


Another Way Part 3

by Salt_the_Catgirl



Series: Another Way [3]
Category: Shiki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Cute Kids, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Kidnapping, Kids, M/M, Romance, Romantic Friendship, True Blood References, Vampires, Werewolves, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-19
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2018-01-20 00:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 46,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1490677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salt_the_Catgirl/pseuds/Salt_the_Catgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One Year after Another Way Part 2, Aoi and Toya-Chan find themselves on the run from a pack of werewolves.  Thanks to the new drink on the market, all sorts of creatures of the night are surfacing and making themselves known.  There are now doctors studying Okiagari and ways to repell them.  Miko Misaki is rummored to be back in town, and there have been signs that Tatsumi may have survived Sotoba after all.  Upon bringing Aoi and Toya into the Moon Bound Cafe for refuge, Natsuno and Tohru are finding themselves caught in all of it.  One good thing that's come from it though is that even after everything, is that there's no doubt in Natsuno's mind that Tohru's still accepted by his close knit family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Night I Attacked Him

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, after several stories with my own OC Yaoi couple, I’ve been drawn back to the couple who started me down this path again. I’m not counting this one as a TruBlood crossover, but I will be using some of the terminology from the series, and the drink itself will still have a minor role. Set just a year after Another Way Part 2, with the new drink on the market, it seems all kinds of creatures of the night have begun to show themselves. After Natsuno pulls Aoi to safety from some real werewolves, we finally get to hear about Tohru’s attacks on Natsuno from his own point of view.

Note from Author: Yep, after several stories with my own OC Yaoi couple, I’ve been drawn back to the couple who started me down this path again. I’m not counting this one as a TruBlood crossover, but I will be using some of the terminology from the series, and the drink itself will still have a minor role. Set just a year after Another Way Part 2, with the new drink on the market, it seems all kinds of creatures of the night have begun to show themselves. After Natsuno pulls Aoi to safety from some real werewolves, we finally get to hear about Tohru’s attacks on Natsuno from his own point of view.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Chapter 1: The Night I Attacked Him

 

Toya sat quietly in the corner of the bedroom, looking across at the sleeping blonde Shiki lying in the bed. The child was six years old now, it had been a year since she first met the uncle she drew her namesake from, but this was the first time she’d ever been left alone with him. She knew what he was, what he was capable of doing. Even though she was family, there was a part of her that felt uneasy being alone in the building with him. However, as she looked at the eternal eighteen year old, sleeping with a death grip on his favorite stuffed bear in the absence of his Jinrou protector, she found herself wondering how he could ever be as dangerous as everyone said the rest of his kind were. She had run to her uncles because she didn’t know where else to go. Her mother was in trouble, and Natsuno was the only person she knew that might be strong enough to help her.

Natsuno was carrying Aoi on his back as they ran from a pack of howling dogs. “Aoi, how in the hell did you end up in trouble with a pack of wolves?” the Jinrou asked.

“It’s a long story, and I’ll explain later, how’d you know where to find me?” Aoi returned.

“Toya-Chan came to find me. She said you were in trouble and needed my help,” Natsuno answered, “That there were some ‘bad men’ after you,” Natsuno looked back over his shoulder at the gaining pack, “She wasn’t kidding.”

“Toya-Chan?” Aoi blinked worriedly, “Where is she now?”

“I left her at home with Tohru,” Natsuno assured her, “He’ll be awake soon, so she’ll be fine.”

“You did what!? Natsuno, I can’t believe you left her alone with him!” Aoi exclaimed.

“Why?” Natsuno glanced back over his shoulder at the woman piggyback ridding on his back.

Aoi closed her eyes and shook her head, she knew this was her older brother they were talking about, but even eleven years after the horrors of Sotoba, and one year after the blood substitute drink being released on the market, she still had her reservations about Vampires as a whole. “Tohru has great control over things when he’s with you,” she sighed, hating that she could even think this way, “That’s why I never had a problem with bringing Toya-Chan to visit the two of you while supervised, but I’m not sure I’m ready to leave her alone with him. Didn’t you say he’s always hungry when he wakes up? You won’t be there for him to feed.”

“Is THAT what you’re worried about!?” Natsuno growled, “Aoi, I assure you, Toya-Chan is in no safer hands than Tohru’s. If we’re not back by the time he wakes up, we have a refrigerator in the back with reserve supplies just for him.”

“That may be, but can you be certain? How long has it been since he’s been alone with a human?” Aoi asked.

Natsuno slid to a screeching halt in a dead-end alleyway and pushed Aoi down into a corner. “I’m telling you, she’s fine,” he growled, “Now, stay here it looks like I’m going to be forced to fight some of these guys after all.”

Aoi watched, horrified as three wolves surrounded Natsuno, each growling and snarling at the day walker that had stolen their prey. Thinking they could overpower the Jinrou, they pounced upon him all at once. Natsuno effortlessly threw one of them off with a backhanded attack, flinging the wolf into a wall. The blow winded the wolf, knocking him unconscious, forcing him to revert back to a human state. Natsuno let out a yelp of pain as one of the remaining two managed to bite down on his neck. He struggled to remove the wolf, with one hand, as he used his other arm to hold the third wolf off of him, catching the third wolf just under the throat, making it difficult for that wolf’s fangs to do him any good.

“I didn’t know the girl was a fang banger,” the third wolf growled, “No, you’re not exactly a fang, but you smell like one.”

Aoi found a metal rod lying on the ground next to the dumpster Natsuno had hidden her behind. She picked it up and held it tight. “Get off of him!” she shouted, hitting the third wolf, swinging the pole as if she were using a golf club. The third wolf yelped as it was knocked backwards. Aoi had nowhere near the strength of the Jinrou, but the blow was enough to inflict pain and temporarily stun the assailant. This gave Natsuno both hands to deal with the wolf on his neck. The flesh tore a little as he pulled the wolf away and threw him off. “Oh my god, Natsuno, are you alright?” Aoi asked, seeing the blood.

Natsuno forced himself to his feet. “I’m fine, Aoi, now get back.” Aoi watched in amazement as Natsuno’s neck healed. She staggered backwards and watched as Natsuno and the wolves began fighting once more. It took some time to over come both of them, but thanks to Aoi’s intervention, at least one of them had become hindered. Apparently these wolves didn’t heal as quickly at Natsuno could. This gave him the upper hand. As the final wolf fell unconscious, Natsuno returned to his sister-in-law and pulled her onto his back once more. “Now, as I was saying, Toya’s perfectly safe. Aoi, I promise you, Tohru-Chan’s still the same brother you knew and loved. The mere fact that she’s your daughter, alone is enough to ensure her safety.”

Aoi blinked quietly at this. She felt ashamed that she felt the way she did. But as Natsuno spoke these words, she couldn’t help noticing he seemed hurt that she had even suggested such a thing. She remembered him being a person who always hid his emotions so well, easy to annoy, but otherwise always putting up a strong defense. She found it odd that if he were bothered by it that he would even allow her to pick up on a hint of it.

“Hold on tight, we’re taking the roofs,” he informed her.

“Wait, we’re what?” Aoi exclaimed as Natsuno jumped into the air. She closed her eyes and gave a quick shriek as she felt them take to the air, clinging on much tighter.

“Do you mind?” Natsuno asked in an annoyed growl as he landed on the rooftop, “My ears are extra sensitive, you know!”

“Sorry,” she blushed.

The sun had already set by the time they arrived at the restaurant. Tohru should have been awake for some time by now. Natsuno remained firm in his belief that everything was alright, but Aoi still had a quiet, niggling doubt in the back of her head that she couldn’t shake. She didn’t voice it any further, as she didn’t want to upset Natsuno any more than he already was. He jumped down off the roof, into the back yard and opened the back door, setting Aoi down on her feet. As the two of them entered the hallway, they heard Toya give a shriek from Tohru’s bedroom. They quietly exchanged looks, both almost seeming to dare the other to say a single word. They bolted for the room and Natsuno threw open the door, heaving a sigh of relief at the scene in front of them. He leaned against the door frame moving so that Aoi could see. Tohru and Toya were both settled in the floor, game controllers in hand, and the six-year-old was loosing.

Natsuno smirked, throwing Aoi a look that seemed to say, “Told you so!”

“Tohru-Ojisan, how do you keep winning!?” the child complained.

“Don’t take it personally, Toya-Chan, I can’t beat him at that game, either,” Natsuno chortled.

Tohru and Toya paused the game and looked up. “When did you two get back?” Tohru asked, standing up.

Toya’s face lit up as she jumped off the floor and ran to Natsuno. “Natsuno-Ojisan!” She threw her arms around him.

“Tsk, still robbing cradles,” Tohru teased.

Natsuno threw Tohru one of his, ‘Shut up’ looks, letting the blonde Shiki know he was in no joking mood at the moment. “Mama!” Toya exclaimed, throwing her arms around Aoi.

Aoi hugged Toya and scooped the child up in her arms. “Toya-Chan, are you alright, darling? You didn’t get hurt on your way here, did you?”

Toya shook her head, “I’m fine.”

Tohru joined them in the doorway, hugging his sister. “Are you, alright, Sis?” he asked, “I was worried when Toya told me what was going on, but I knew Natsuno would get you back here safely.”

Aoi nodded, “Yes, I’m alright. A little shaken, but no worse for ware. Thank you, both.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Natsuno grumbled. “Look, we have a spare room down the hall. It’s supposed to be mine, but I hardly ever use it, and Tohru can’t sleep in there because of the windows. You two are welcome to stay the night. If there are any more of these guys, they’ll probably be keeping an eye on your place. We’ll keep an eye on things. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to clean up. Tohru, I think it might be best to keep the restaurant closed for the night.”

“Alright, I’ll call Muroi-San and let him know we won’t need them tonight,” Tohru nodded. He watched quietly as Natsuno went down the hall. “Is he alright?” he asked.

“I think I offended him somehow,” Aoi admitted.

“Huh?” Tohru looked at her curiously.

“I owe you an apology, Tohru-Niisan,” she sighed. “I told him I was worried about leaving Toya-Chan alone with you. He became real defensive on your behalf. As your sister, I’m ashamed I even doubted you.”

“It’s more to it than that,” Tohru sighed, leaning against the wall. “Toya-Chan, go put the game on first player and get some practice in, maybe you’ll be able to beat me next time,” he suggested.

“OK!” Toya replied excitedly, running back into the bedroom.

Tohru shut the door, so Toya couldn’t hear them. He looked at his sister. “You didn’t just offend him, Aoi, you really hurt him. He knows Toya’s safer with me than he ever was.”

Aoi shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“No, I suppose you don’t,” Tohru sighed, “We never told you. He didn’t tell you, because he didn’t want you to think any less of me. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it needed to be said.”

“Tohru?” Aoi looked at her brother worriedly and braced herself for what was coming.

“There isn’t a day that goes by we don’t regret our actions in Sotoba. We use those regrets to try and make our way through everything one night at a time, without repeating those actions. Natsuno was the one who countered Chizuru’s hypnotic venom, allowing Ozaki-Sensei to deal with the Shiki however he saw fit. Natsuno wanted to rid Sotoba of every single Okiagari, including himself, in a way, he’s responsible for the slaughter that took place, but he never wanted it to reach the scale that it did. Yes, I fed from people, I killed people to keep myself alive. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, but it was something I was told I had no other choice but to do. When we left Sotoba, and learned I could feed from Natsuno, we made a pact. As much as either of us hates to dwell on the thought, if I so much as bite anyone but Natsuno ever again, he WILL drag me out in the sunlight and run a stake through me. He may find a way to follow me to the final grave after that, but that was our agreement, and I have no doubt in my mind that he will carry it out.”

“Oh my god, Tohru,” Aoi gasped, “I had no idea.”

Tohru sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “That’s not all that’s bothering him, though. You doubted me with the safety of your own daughter, when he knows that you and Tamotsu are still human because of what he is… Because of what I did to him. Even if neither of us ever made that agreement, if I attacked either of you, or your children, I’d be corrupting everything that stood for!”

“Tohru?” Aoi asked, “You mean you’re…?”

Tohru gave a sad, quiet nod. “Yes, I’M the one who bit him.”

Aoi gasped and covered her mouth. “You? But why, how? I never would have thought you could or would… Not Natsuno!”

“I never wanted to, Aoi!” Tohru insisted, “My hand was forced.” He hung his head and rubbed his right elbow. He closed his eyes and sighed. “No matter what I do, I know I can never make it up to him. Megumi forced him to watch the first time she attacked me. So he naturally began to fight the Shiki, they saw him as a threat. Tatsumi decided to get rid of him, and chose me for the job. I tried to convince him not to send me. I pleaded with him, literally got down on my hands and knees with tear soaked eyes and begged him not to send me to do it. But Tatsumi was one cold sadistic bastard; he simply laughed in my face and told me if I didn’t do it, then you and Tamotsu would be taken instead.”

“So you turned him… To protect us?” Aoi asked quietly. She was stunned. She couldn’t believe he would do such a thing even to protect her and Tamotsu, but now she at least thought she understood why Natsuno seemed so hurt.

“I did it for you and Tamotsu, but I also did it for him, he just never asked my side of things beyond protecting you, and beyond keeping him away from Shimizu, I’ve simply left it unsaid,” Tohru sighed.

“Huh?” Aoi blinked curiously at her brother and shook her head, “Ok, I’m sorry, you’ve lost me again?”

Tohru sighed, shook his head, and sank to a sitting position in the floor, resting a hand upon his forehead. “Shizuka was sent to his house before me. She tried to gain entry, but Natsuno’s father was reluctant, it was his mother that finally caved in and allowed her in. Shizuka asked permission for her ‘big brother’ to come later, while she waited for Natsuno in his room. They agreed, which allowed me to enter, but he didn’t come home that night. He was out until dawn with Akira and Kaori. We were forced to leave before the sun came up. When I returned the next night, he had plastered his wall with holy relics, there was no way I could enter. But I knew what his parents were like, his father didn’t approve of religion, and threw them out while he was still asleep. I returned the next night and knocked on his window. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn’t shake. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Natsuno, and I hated that I was being forced to choose between him and the two of you. I had hoped maybe I could talk him into giving up his fight against the Shiki, to turn a blind eye and either leave or pretend he was gone, but when I felt his warm hand grab my wrist, and saw the look in his eyes as he realized I was the monster outside his window… I couldn’t stand seeing him look at me like that. He had always come to me when he needed to feel safe. I turned and I fled, hoping he wouldn’t give chase, knowing he was safer inside than if he followed me. Of course he followed, I should have known he would.”

Tohru pushed the bangs out of his face, and moved his hand, only to let them fall again as he took a deep, unnecessary breath. “He followed me to the sacred fountain and I hid in the trees, lamenting the situation before me, wishing there was some other way, hoping he couldn’t find me. Then she showed up. Megumi berated me for being cowardly, suggesting the possibility that Natsuno would rise up and become one of us. I realized it was possible, but there was still the chance it wouldn’t happen, and even so, I knew he’d hate being a Shiki, and would never forgive me for turning him into one. Since I was refusing, she decided she was going to do it. The next thing I knew, Natsuno was cornered, the fountain and the trees where I was hiding behind him, Tatsumi on his right, and Shimizu on his left, he had no where to go, no way to defend himself, no one to protect him.”

Tohru shook his head and forced back a sob. “That first bite, was all I could do to keep him safe. Megumi would have hypnotized him into doing God knows what for her, and Tatsumi would have toyed with him before killing him. My hands were forced, I couldn’t let either of them have him. But at the same time, I knew how he would feel. He would be hurt and feel betrayed, perhaps even horrified. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand hearing him scream as my fangs sank into his neck, not my Natsuno, I’d never be able to forgive myself if I had to hear that. So I leapt out of the trees from behind, tears in my eyes. I grabbed him around the chest and gently put a hand over his mouth to stifle him. I used a special bite, one that I use on him still, a bite that induces pleasure rather than pain. With my hand over his mouth, Megumi and Tatsumi never knew the difference.”

Tohru sighed as he continued, “I drank just enough to render him unconscious, but even then, I couldn’t deny his was the best blood I’d ever tasted. At least for the time being, I knew all three of you would be safe. Tatsumi ordered me to hypnotize him so that he wouldn’t tell anyone and then take him home. I couldn’t bring myself to hypnotize him. I had already broken so much of his trust, broken his heart, I couldn’t break his mind as well. I carried him home and put him to bed. Before I left, I gave him a kiss on the forehead and whispered in his ear that I was sorry and that I hoped he would forgive me. I waited and stayed away the next night, letting him recover, hoping I would have a chance to explain things, to try again to talk him into forgetting his fight with the Shiki and disappear. If he left or simply stopped showing himself, there was a chance I could have tricked Tatsumi into believing I had carried out the task without actually having to do so. But, that night that I waited, I didn’t feed at all, which was a mistake on my part. When I returned, I started to knock on his window, but hesitated. I knew he would never forgive me, and I didn’t think he would be very welcoming to see me again. It tore at me to know what I was being asked to do. As I started to leave, he jumped out of the bushes in front of his window, he’d been waiting for me.”

By now, Aoi was sitting in the floor across from her brother, as she breathlessly listened to him recount Natsuno’s final nights as a human, as they had played out in his own eyes. “He held up a cross and asked if I really was frightened of it. I realized he sounded more curious about it than anything, and called out to him. He hurled the cross in my direction, scolding me like he always did for using his name, then turned and ran. I gave chase, knowing I couldn’t let anyone else catch him. I explained things, the way they had been explained to me. The next thing I knew, he was staring me down, with a stake and hammer in his hands. I froze. I was too frightened to move any closer, this was Natsuno, after all, it was very possible he was capable of driving it through my heart without a second thought if he saw me as a threat. I was also too scared to turn and leave. I didn’t want to think he would attack me from behind, but I had done it to him, so it wasn’t a possibility I could rule out. His name was the only word I could bring myself to utter. It broke him, Aoi, I could see it in his eyes. He didn’t know how to handle it. I was acting like the Tohru he knew and trusted, not the monster he’d come to believe I should have been, and I’m certain he heard the fear and sadness in my voice as I called out to him. I wanted so bad to throw my arms around him and tell him everything would be alright, but I couldn’t move. He tossed the stake aside and asked me to run with him, to find a better way then. But I was certain that if I left with him, Tatsumi would catch on and either attack you and Tamotsu or give chase after us, or perhaps both. I couldn’t leave with him. What I didn’t realize was that he couldn’t leave without me. He freely offered his blood that night, begging me to leave with him, but I couldn’t do it. I turned away and hoped he wouldn’t get too close. I could smell the blood running through his veins, and I’d not fed within the last twenty four hours. I lost myself to the hunger. Before I knew what I was doing, I had lunged at him and thrown him to the ground, draining him until he was unconscious once more. Again, I carried him back to his house and put him to bed, again I kissed his forehead and told him how sorry I was.”

“His final night alive, I was certain he’d never forgive me, but I went back to check on him. He wasn’t even able to move out of the bed. He asked his father to leave the window open, as if he knew I was coming. He knew I was outside, and called to me as soon as he was alone. I told him, while I knew he could hear me, just how sorry I was. He was miserable and had completely given up. I couldn’t stand watching him suffer anymore. That final bite was a mercy killing. When we heard he’d been picked up by a funeral home from the city, and would have been cremated, I was devastated. It was the first time Shimizu and I ever agreed on anything involving him and Masao. Masao had taken pleasure in hearing that Natsuno was gone. Megumi gave him a good pummeling for it, and I hadn’t had much contact with him, but I wanted to rip his throat out. Imagine my surprise when I found Natsuno standing in front of me, promising me everything would be alright, and that if I made it safely through what was coming, the offer to leave with him still stood.” Tohru’s eyes slowly shifted across to his sister, she was just as teary eyed as he was now.

“God, Tohru, I’m so sorry,” she said quietly, “For both of you! I never knew.”

Tohru slowly stood up and shook his head. “Natsuno didn’t want you to know, or he would have said something the first night you walked through the door. Aoi, he knew what I did was for you and Tamotsu, he barely knew I was doing it for him too. He didn’t want to drive you away.” Tohru sighed and smiled at her. “Like he said, Sis, you and Toya-Chan are welcome to stay the night.” He turned to head down the hall to the bathroom, having heard Natsuno finally turn the water on. The Jinrou had been listening to the conversation the whole time.

“Tohru, let me ask you something?” Aoi said as she leapt to her feet. Tohru turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. “You regretted biting him as a human. But you’re still feeding from him now, aren’t you? What makes the difference between now and then?”

Tohru smiled, it only seemed natural that she wouldn’t understand. He didn’t seem to take any offense to the question. “I regretted it then, because he was human, and regardless of what we had been told, I knew it wasn’t right to take a human life. It was simply a choice we weren’t given. Kill or starve, those were the original orders from Kanemasa. Natsuno gives his blood freely, willingly, because he knows I need it, and as long as I have him, there’s no risk to anyone else. I tried once to wean myself, at least from taking so much, a year after everything happened, I tried to take less and less, but I nearly starved myself and he forbade me from ever trying such measures again. But, when an Okiagari forces the blood from a human, then they see that human as a food source and nothing more. When a human gives it willingly, without hypnotism as Natsuno tried the second time, it means friendship or love between the two. The bite I told you I use for him, its not meant to be used on humans when they’re forced. It’s a love bite, specifically meant for two Okiagari to share with one another.” He smiled as his sister blushed at this, clearly she understood what he meant. With that, he turned and continued on his way to the bathroom. The door was locked when he tried to open it. “Natsuno?” he called.

“Not now, Tohru,” Natsuno answered from within.

Tohru frowned and leaned against the door. “Natsuno, open the door, or I’m going to break it in,” he threatened.

The door swung open and Tohru stumbled off balance. He closed his eyes, expecting to fall right into the tub. He blinked them open again, when he felt Natsuno’s arm catch hold of him. Natsuno sighed and smiled, shaking his head as he closed the door. “You didn’t tell me you were right up against it.”

Tohru sighed. “Thanks.” He turned and looked at the Jinrou. “Natsuno, I…”

Natsuno nodded, “I know, Tohru, I heard,” he leaned against the door as he locked it, “How come you never told me the way you saw it?”

Tohru shook his head, “You never asked, and I never thought it needed to be said.” He gently wrapped his arms around the Jinrou. “Natsuno, you can’t blame Aoi for thinking like that.”

Natsuno sighed and hugged the blonde Shiki close. Tohru was cold to the touch, having drank Natsuno’s blood for so many years, his body was finally as warm as it use to be when he was alive, but tended to get colder during fasting. While the blood substitute helped keep the hunger in check, it did nothing for his body temperature. “I don’t blame her, Tohru,” he replied, “As Toya’s mother, it’s only natural she would be worried about leaving her child alone with a Vampire the first time. But as your sister, I had hoped she would have more faith in you than that. I don’t blame her, I just couldn’t believe she would think such a thing.”

Tohru smiled at him, gently caressing a hand to his cheek. After all they had been put through, Natsuno still believed in him, knew he’d never willingly harm a soul. After all that time in Sotoba where Tohru had been the one to make Natsuno feel safe, Tohru found it ironic that it was now the other way around. The blonde leaned forward and pushed his lips to Natsuno’s, gently sliding his left hand into the Jinrou’s, letting their fingers link together.

Natsuno closed his hand around Tohru’s and pulled the Shiki closer, wrapping his free arm around him, and returning the kiss. Tohru pulled away from the kiss and lowered his head toward Natsuno’s neck. He pulled away with what almost sounded like a jealous hiss as his nose passed across the spot where the wolf had caught him. His beautiful brown eyes flashed their monstrous black and red. “Who bit you?” he asked. He shook his head forcing his eyes back to normal. “And why do you smell like wet dog?”

Natsuno chuckled and gently caught Tohru under the chin. “Relax, beautiful,” he said assuringly, “There’s no need to get jealous over a handful of mutts. You might want to wait until I wash off before feeding, though. No telling what kind of debris got left behind when they jumped us.”

“Mutts?” Tohru asked, stepping aside, to allow Natsuno access to the tub.

“Werewolves,” Natsuno grunted as he pulled back the shower curtain and began to get undressed.

“Just what the hell kind of trouble has Aoi landed herself in?” Tohru asked.

“She said it was a long story,” Natsuno replied tossing his dirty clothes into the hamper and climbing into the tub, “But I intend to find out as soon as I get out of here.”


	2. That's What Family Is For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tohru and Natsuno take a moment to sit down with Aoi and discover why the wolves are after her. Natsuno shows his softer side when talking to Toya-Chan, apparently kids love him, who knew?

Natsuno finished in the shower and dried off. Climbing out of the tub and wrapping a towel around himself, he approached Tohru, who had stayed quietly by the door the entire time. Tohru blushed as Natsuno approached him, there was just something about seeing the Jinrou soaking wet that made him even more attractive. Natsuno gently grabbed Tohru's arms and leaned in for a kiss. "Care to try again?" he asked with a soft chuckle, as he pulled away.

Tohru smiled and nodded, leaning in towards Natsuno's neck. The blonde Shiki closed his eyes and let the smell of Natsuno's freshly washed flesh over take him. The Jinrou gave a soft gasp as Tohru's fangs sank in, even after all these years, that was the one reflex he couldn't prevent himself from having.  
Natsuno smiled and wrapped his arms around Tohru, being sure to keep his head tilted so as not to disturb the feeding Okiagari. "Tohru-Chan, I want you to understand something. I don't blame Aoi for worrying, but had she been anyone but your sister, I would have left her there for the wolves. In truth, the fact that she even said anything simply felt that she was being ungrateful for us helping her."

Tohru gave a soft "Mnhmh" to suggest he understood, as he continued to drink. He understood Aoi's reasons, and he knew Natsuno well enough to understand what had bothered him. Finally, Tohru pulled away from Natsuno's neck licking the wound clean until it healed. He licked his lips and gently kissed Natsuno's neck before pulling away. "If it had been anyone but Aoi, then I would have asked what was wrong with you when you brought her back here," he said momentarily. He smiled at Natsuno. "But thank you, for bringing my sister back safely."

Natsuno gently ruffled a hand through the blonde Shiki's hair. "Tohru-Chan, we went for ten long years not knowing what happened to either of our families, but almost certain there was no way either of us could go back to them if they were OK. I'm not going to just stand back and let you loose them again after having just found them." Tohru smiled, he knew that was the closest thing to a 'you're welcome' he was going to get out Natsuno on the matter. "Now, would you mind running to my room and fetching me some fresh clothes before the girls take it over? And don't forget to let Seishin-Sama know what's going on. Once I'm dressed, I want to sit down with your sister and find out what she's gotten herself into."

Tohru nodded. "I'll be right back," he promised, as he slipped out the door.

Sometime later, Natsuno and Aoi were sitting at the back table in the restaurant. Aoi had already carried Toya to bed in Natsuno's room and tucked her in for the night. Natsuno handed her a cup of fresh brewed coffee as he joined her at the table. "Thank you, Natsuno," she said as she took the cup from him. She took a single sip, then looked up at her brother-in-law. "Natsuno, I owe you and Tohru-Niisan both an apology, I didn't realize…"

Aoi fell quiet when she saw the look on Natsuno's face. "Aoi, we're all family here," Tohru said as he walked into the room, "Natsuno's no where near as mad as either of us thought he was, let's just let bygones be bygones." He plopped down in the seat next to Natsuno and smiled as he leaned over on the Jinrou's shoulder. Natsuno heaved a quiet sigh, he couldn't stay angry about anything with Tohru in the room. Aoi smiled looking at her brother's face. He had that same beautiful, 'I can light up any room no matter how dark it is' smile that she always remembered him having. Tohru sat the phone on the table. "I called Muroi-Sama and told him we weren't opening tonight due to a family emergency. He said it's just as well, he and Ozaki-Sensei had trouble getting Sunako out of bed tonight. Apparently Okiagari ARE capable of getting some illnesses, and considering the age she was when she was turned, she's easily susceptible to them. Which is why she had that doctor she had back in Sotoba, he was capable of healing humans, Shiki, and Jinrou alike. Ozaki-Sensei's going to have to learn it all in order to replace him. But, he did say to call and let him know if we did actually end up needing their assistance."

Natsuno nodded. "Hopefully it won't come to that, but I appreciate the offer. Now, Aoi, what exactly is going on? I wasn't expecting werewolves when I came rushing to your rescue. If I had come during a full moon, one of them alone would have been more trouble for me than all three of them were this afternoon, and unlike Tohru and myself, werewolves don't need an invitation."

Aoi sighed and hung her head. "I'm sorry about that, Natsuno. I really do appreciate the help. I didn't want anyone else to get mixed up in this mess. I told Toya-Chan to hide, I didn't expect her to run to you two. I told you before, I work at home. I manage money for several different clients; businesses, private individuals, maybe a Yakuza member or two, I don't ask, I simply act as the broker and mediator. These werewolves were some of my clients, though I have to admit it came as quite a shock to learn their true identity. Somewhere some wires got crossed, and they're out untold amounts of money. The error wasn't mine, but I was singled out as the last person to process the data, so they came looking for me to learn what went wrong. Their leader has a rather nasty temper and they didn't like it when I told them I had no idea who's error it was, nor how the oversight was even made. I mean, I was the one who called their attention to the issue, and they still blamed me. Natsuno, if you had gotten there a moment later, I don't know what they would have done." She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, trembling a little. "I hate to admit it, but I'm afraid to go home. Like Natsuno said earlier, they may be waiting for me, and I certainly can't risk taking Toya back there if they are."

Tohru moved across to his sister and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Relax, Sis, you and Toya-Chan can stay here as long as you need to. Natsuno and I will keep you safe." He ignored Natsuno's 'I didn't agree to that' look, knowing the Jinrou wouldn't turn them out during a time like this.  
"Thank you again, both of you," Aoi said with a nod and a sigh of relief. She couldn't deny she felt safer knowing the two Okiagari were close by.

"No need to thank us, Aoi," Natsuno grunted, as he sat his elbows on the table, linking his fingers together and rested his lips against the edge of them, to hide a jealous smile. "That's what family is for." His eyes held their usual cold, emotionless luster that Aoi had grown to recognize from Natsuno's days as a disgruntled teen. His hands pressed against his face were hiding the only thing that would give away what he was really feeling as he watched Tohru comfort his sister. In the year since Aoi had stumbled through their front door, she and Toya had come to visit several times, Tamotsu and Kaori and even Akira and his wife had come with their own children a few times. Tohru's parents had even visited once or twice and sent gifts over the past Christmas holiday. But Natsuno's parents had yet to set foot through that door. He hoped it was simply that his mother, Azusa, was worried his father's 'sensible' mind would relapse back into a state of dementia if he saw his dead son walking around as if nothing ever happened. He had, after all, watched the boy die twice, seeing him alive a third time would be an understandable blow to the psyche. Still, it didn't help that he had always secretly envied how close Tohru was to his family in comparison.

Natsuno blinked and shifted his eyes toward the hallway. “I’ll be right back,” he said, standing up and heading down the hall. He’d thought he’d heard something, but didn’t want to startle Aoi if it were simply a false alarm. Before he left, he let his eyes meet with Tohru’s. The Shiki had heard it too. They didn’t have to speak. Tohru simply nodded, understanding Natsuno wanted him to stay with Aoi for safety’s sake.

Natsuno followed the sound to his bedroom at the end of the hall, where Toya should have been asleep. He slowly pushed the door open, just enough to peek in and see that the child was alright. He heard a tiny gasp and saw the covers move as she tried to pull them over her head to hide when she heard the door creak. Natsuno sighed and smiled, no sense in lurking in the doorway if she was awake. He pushed the door open and stepped inside the room. “Toya-Chan? Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

The Jinrou smiled as the blonde headed six-year-old popped her head back out from under the covers and looked up at him. “Oh, Natsuno-Ojisan, it’s just you,” she giggled.

Natsuno flicked on the light, him and her both shrinking back from it as their eyes attempted to adjust. He sat on the edge of the bed next to her. “What are you doing still awake?” he asked.

“I can’t sleep,” she pouted.

“Why?” Natsuno asked. He couldn’t resist the urge to tease, “You’re not afraid of monsters under the bed, are you?”

“Nuh-uh!” she insisted, shaking her head. “You and Tohru-Ojisan are both monsters! You’d beat up any mean old monster hiding under the bed.”

Natsuno blinked at this unexpected, yet totally honest reply. He couldn’t help but snicker. “I suppose you’re right,” he admitted, gently patting the top of her head. “So, then, why are you still awake? It’s well past your bed time, isn’t it?”

“I don’t sleep very well by myself in new places, and Mama hasn’t come to bed yet,” she admitted.

“She’ll be along shortly. But, I tell you what, until she’s ready to come to sleep, I’ll ask your Uncle Tohru if you can borrow one of the bears from his bed to keep you company, ok?” he offered.

Toya shook her head. “Why can’t you just stay in here with me until she comes back?” she requested. Just as Natsuno had feared when he first set eyes on her, he had spoiled the girl rotten, and she had often voiced the fact that he and Tohru were her favorite uncles. “This is your room anyway, isn’t it?”

Natsuno nodded. “It was, but I don’t use it very often. I’m usually awake all night with your Uncle Tohru, then take short naps during the day while he’s asleep. I suppose I could stay and read you a story until you fall asleep. But are you sure you wouldn’t want a bear to snuggle with incase she doesn’t come to bed before you fall asleep?”

“Ok, if he’ll share,” Toya nodded, “I saw how he was holding that one while he was asleep. Looked like he thought someone was going to take it.”

Natsuno got up off the bed and walked toward the door, trying his best not to laugh at the child. “Alright, I’ll ask him for you. I know the one you’re talking about. That’s his favorite, he might not give it up,” he turned and winked at her, “But he’s got some I’m sure he’ll be willing to loan you. In the meantime, why don’t you look over the books on that lower book shelf next to the window and pick out a story you’d like me to read?”

Toya nodded, “OK.”

Natsuno rejoined Tohru and Aoi in the dining hall and slipped up behind them, he leaned over the seat, and wrapped his arms around the Shiki’s shoulders. “You wouldn’t happen to have a stuffed animal or two you’re willing to part with for the night, would you?” he asked.

Tohru and Aoi both blinked, having caught the chuckle in his voice that he’d failed to stifle. Tohru gently caught Natsuno’s arms in his hands and tilted his head up to look at the Jinrou. “Why…?” he asked curiously, slowly, holding it out for a second.

“Toya-Chan’s having trouble sleeping. I promised her a story, but told her I’d try to convince you to part with one of your bears for the night.”

“Oh, of course!” Aoi realized, slapping a hand against her head. “She said she couldn’t sleep by herself in a new place?” Natsuno nodded an affirmative. Aoi shook her head. “She has a stuffed rabbit she carries everywhere, especially when spending the night somewhere. We didn’t exactly have time to grab it before everything happened.”

Tohru smiled and gave a soft chuckle. “She can have ‘em all,” he said. Natsuno blinked, surprised at the reply, until Tohru added a single stipulation. “As long as you two keep your hands off my snuggle bear.”

That did it, all that work trying not to laugh at Toya, Tohru had pushed the final button. Natsuno actually started to laugh as he pulled away. “I told her you wouldn’t part with that one.”

“Natsuno, just how many bears are we talking here?” Aoi asked, knowing what her brother was like.

Natsuno regained his composure. “I bought him three our first year here, I’ve bought him a new one every year since, so that’s a total of thirteen.”

“So, enough to crowd someone out of the bed?” She smiled and laughed, “Toya-Chan would love that, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve gone to get her up, only to find her buried under a pile of plushies.”

“He has them all lined up on the bed, pushed against the wall. He keeps the first one, his favorite, at the head of the bed so he can reach it quickly when I’m not there.”

Tohru blushed. “It looks like the one I had back in Sotoba. It really helped this place feel like home after he bought it for me. The fact that it was the first one he bought me just made it extra special.”

Aoi shook her head and smiled. “Eleven years later, and you’re still acting like a child,” she giggled, kissing her brother’s cheek, “Natsuno was right, you’re still the brother I knew and loved.” She looked up at Natsuno. “I guess you’ve got your hands full keeping up with him, too.”

“Hey, I’m right here, you know?” Tohru grumbled.

“Sounds like Toya-Chan took a lot more from you than your name, Tohru-Chan,” Natsuno chuckled, gently placing his hands on the Shiki’s shoulders. “He is a handful sometimes, Aoi.” He leaned down as Tohru looked up at him, and gave Tohru a gentle kiss on the lips. “But I wouldn’t have him any other way.”


	3. "Girl Talk"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoi and Tohru are in the kitchen, Seishin is on the floor at the hibachi grill. Aoi is trying her best to get her brother to share some details about the relationship between Natsuno and himself. Apparently, everyone has it in their head that Natsuno filed the registry the way he did so he could skirt the system and make them a married couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, a couple cute/funny chapters, this is part of the “Another Way” series, after all. I don’t want it to get too dark. We’ll get back to the action soon, though. By the way, the way I’ve been writing Tohru and Natsuno in this one, after eleven years, I think they would finally be at about this level of comfortableness in their relationship, right?

Chapter 3: “Girl Talk”

 

The restaurant was full of customers the next night. Saturday was normally Tohru and Natsuno’s busiest night of the week, and they felt confident enough that the crowds would deter any trouble from Aoi’s pursuers. Aoi was giving Tohru a hand in the kitchen and with the customers. Seishin had begrudgingly left Sunako’s side for the night to help with the Hibachi grill, warily leaving her in Toshio Ozaki’s care. Natsuno had left Tohru in charge, trusting his judgment in the fullest, while he went to take care of some things. The everyday regulars recognized Aoi as a family member, while some of the once a month or so regulars began asking questions about the new face. Only a handful knew that Tohru and Natsuno were both vampires, and none of them had ever figured out the two of them weren’t really brothers, so Aoi found herself having to explain to some of them that she was not Natsuno’s girlfriend, just another family member who had dropped in to visit for a while.

Aoi leaned against the edge of the kitchen counter and watched in amazement as her brother handled the cooking and prepping of the food. Tohru’s eyes shifted toward her and he blinked. “What?” he asked.

She shook her head. “When’d you learn to cook? You use to never know how to work anything more complicated than a microwave,” she teased.

“Oh, come on, Aoi, don’t tease me like that,” Tohru sighed as he removed the lid from a large boiling pot in order to stir its contents, “Natsuno taught me. This is HIS kitchen, not mine. Every inch of interior design in this place, from the dining hall to the kitchen, and the living quarters was his handiwork, and every recipe on the menu is his as well. Our first few months, I was out front with the customers, since I’m a people person, only taking over to keep an eye on things he had to walk away from or fetching him ingredients when he needed them. But, he taught me how to prep and cook everything along the way, too, so that I could take care of things if he wasn’t here.”

“Where’d he learn all that?” Aoi asked, “I know he’s got book smarts, but…?”

“His father ran the atelier, Sis. He learned it all from his parents,” Tohru reminded her as he tended to the stir fry on the front burner. “He picked up woodworking and designing from Yuki-Sama and said that until they moved to Sotoba, his mother used to have him help her in the kitchen every night.” Tohru picked up a bottle of the blood substitute drink and took a sip, closing his eyes as he did so. He shook his head and heaved a sigh as he sat the bottle back on the counter out of the way. “I wish he’d hurry back, this stuff is ok in a pinch or as a snack, but it just doesn’t beat the real thing.”

“So, does he stay in the kitchen, unless there’s a problem out front?” Aoi asked.

“For the most part. This entire building is listed under Natsuno’s name, so he has to show his face for public relations from time-to-time, otherwise, he only comes out if there’s a problem. You know how he is with people; he hates crowds.”

Aoi nodded, “Yeah, he always did come across as stand-offish and a bit of a bully in public.” She smiled slyly, as she started the next line of questioning. “So, you two have been together for eleven years, listed as siblings. I’m guessing he took his father’s stance on getting the government and religions involved in marriages, especially considering the nature of your relationship, so he used that excuse to get around the system. After eleven years, when’s that bitch going to get you a ring?” She did her best not to laugh as her brother’s face turned bright red.

“What, and fully ruin the illusion? It’s more fun to keep ‘em guessing,” Tohru chuckled as he took the food from the stove and attempted to plate it. He blinked as his sister stifled a giggle and he finally realized what she was really aiming for. “Oooh, no…! NO! No, no, no, no, no. NO! This is not happening. I am not about to stand here in this kitchen and have ‘girl talk’ with my younger sister! I’m not doing it, Aoi.”

“I should have known I couldn’t coax you into it, not after all those times you refused to play dress up with me when we were kids because it wasn’t ‘manly enough’, but I thought I’d at least try,” she giggled.

“Aoi, you’ve already admitted that Natsuno was the first guy you and Kaori both ever crushed on, are you really sure you want to sit down and listen to you’re older brother talk about what it’s like with him?” Tohru asked, leaning against the counter.

“I suppose you have a point,” she said, awkwardly glancing off to the side, setting an elbow on the counter and resting her cheek on her knuckles. She sighed, blinked, and shifted her eyes back toward her brother, “But at least answer me this, is he any good?”

Tohru blinked. “I will at least dignify that with a simple answer; ‘GOOD’ is an understatement.” He smiled as he watched his sister blush as she took a step backwards, away from the counter. “Uh-huh, that’s the reaction I expected. Let’s put it this way, and leave it at this; I don’t know what he would have been like when we were still human, but there’s no mortal that could survive a night in bed with him now.” Tohru cleared his throat and finished plating the dishes. “Here, these are ready to be taken out. Tables four, seven, and twelve.”

Aoi nodded and started to pick up the tray. Tohru suddenly grabbed her arm. The two Mutou siblings looked at each other and blinked as they heard the wooden clank on the front door and the entire dinning hall fell silent. Tohru sighed, smiled, and nodded at his sister, as he released her arm. He recognized the sound of the footsteps and the scent in the air that only he and Seishin could detect. Slowly, the crowd in the dining room began to murmur and talk again. Seishin was still out front at the hibachi grill, had there been any threat, he would have been the first line of defense. “Oi, Tohru-Chan?” Natsuno called as he entered the hallway. Aoi heaved a sigh of relief hearing the Jinrou’s voice.

“In here, babe,” Tohru replied.

Natsuno entered the kitchen and found a counter that wasn’t being used to sit his backpack on. “I got the stuff you asked for, Aoi,” he informed her as he started unzipping the smaller zipper on the front of the bag. He decided to wait until after closing to tell her what her penthouse had looked like when he got there, he didn’t want to distress her. “I grabbed you and Toya-Chan some changes of clothes, too. I think it might be best if you stay for a while longer. Good news, Tohru-Chan.” Natsuno pulled out a stuffed rabbit, holding it by its ears, the same one Toya had been carrying the first time Aoi had entered the restaurant, “I think we can get your bears back in the morning. I brought Toya-Chan her lucky rabbit’s foot.” Aoi giggled as Tohru shrank back a little. It seemed ridiculous to be afraid of a child’s toy at his age, but even if it was a stuffed animal, the fact that Toya carried it everywhere with her like she really believed it was a good luck charm had been enough to imbue it as such toward the Shiki. To Tohru and Sunako, that rabbit’s right foot was no different than a bell.

“That’s nice, can we get it out of the kitchen, please?” Tohru asked nervously.

Natsuno nodded. “I’ll go put it in the bed room. She’s probably asleep by now, I hope.”

Aoi gave a quiet smile and carried the tray out to the dining hall to deliver the food. Still holding the rabbit by its ears, Natsuno slung it over his shoulder as if he were carrying a bag and carried it to the bedroom where Toya was sleeping. He quietly slipped into the room, the child was covered in stuffed bears, hugging tight to a chocolate colored one that was made to smell just like chocolate. Natsuno smiled and sat the rabbit on the night stand next to the bed, setting it so that it was facing her, where she could see it when she woke up. He then turned and left the room just as quietly as he had entered.

As soon as Natsuno returned to the kitchen, he found himself being pounced by the blonde Shiki. Tohru threw his arms around Natsuno’s neck and wrapped his legs around the Jinrou’s torso, their lips meeting for a kiss. Natsuno blushed but gently wrapped his arms around Tohru, returning the kiss. Tohru was the first to pull away. “You’ve been gone too long,” he pouted.

“I was only gone for a few hours,” Natsuno chuckled.

“Still too long,” Tohru complained, “We close in another three hours, and smelling this food is driving me crazy. Do you know what it’s like to have to smell stuff this good and not be able to taste test any of it?”

Natsuno laughed as he sat the Shiki back down on his own two feet. “Alright, I’m sorry I took so long.” He gently rustled his hand through Tohru’s hair. “Thanks for taking care of things while I was gone. I’ll make it up to you by fixing you a special batch of teriyaki-style Kobe beef and some shrimp fried rice after we close, alright?”

“Really?” Tohru asked, almost excitedly, “Kobe?”

Natsuno chuckled as he went to wash his hands. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

“An egg roll too, maybe?” Tohru requested.

Natsuno smiled. “Sure thing.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Seishin’s voice rang from the door. Natsuno and Tohru both looked up at him. “To be honest, I’ve heard more about the relationship between the two of you tonight than I ever cared to,” the former monk commented, shifting his eyes toward Tohru, his Jinrou ears had heard every word of the conversation between the Mutou siblings. Natsuno glanced up at Tohru, who blushed as he realized such had been the case. “But, would you mind telling me how it is that Tohru-Kun is going to be able to digest this feast you’re promising him?”

Natsuno sighed. “I guess I couldn’t keep it hidden forever. I’ll explain after closing. In the meantime, let’s just say that if you’re willing to donate a few pints of your blood to the cause, I’ll fix some Miso or Egg Drop soup to send back to Sunako before you leave.”


	4. Entranced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Seishin's caught wind of their methods, Natsuno finally gives in and lets him in on the secret. Tohru's in the room when both Jinrou spill blood, but shouldn't he be frenzied by now? And why is Toya-Chan screaming?

Chapter 4: Entranced 

 

After closing, Natsuno set Aoi, Tohru, and Seishin to work cleaning up the Hibachi Grill and dining hall while he put away the dishes used for the customers and began working on the meal he promised Tohru. He made enough to go around; plenty for Tohru, Seishin, Aoi, Toya, Toshio, Sunako, and himself. Along with the promised dishes of teriyaki beef, egg rolls, shrimp fried rice, and Miso soup, he also prepared a dish of wantons and mochi cakes. He plated, boxed, and bagged Seishin and Toshio’s shares of the food, then plated his own as well as Toya’s, setting both in the refrigerator for later, Toya could have hers for lunch the next day. He then gave Aoi her share.

What was left was the portions for Tohru and Sunako. He set them aside on individual trays, grabbed two to-go soup cups and told Tohru and Seishin to follow him. This was the first time Seishin had been allowed into the building’s living quarters. He followed the two eternally teenaged Okiagari to Tohru’s room. He gave a quiet look of dismay when he saw Tohru’s lighting display. He found it all rather childish.

“Tohru-Chan, we’ll fix yours last, alright?” Natsuno stated as he set up the blender.

Tohru quietly nodded. The Shiki sat in the corner of the room, next to the trays of food, it was rare that Natsuno allowed him to watch this part of the preparations. He closed his eyes and took in the scent. “Natsuno, it smells amazing, as always,” Tohru complimented.

“What exactly are we doing?” Seishin asked, adjusting his glasses.

The younger Jinrou seemed to ignore the elder as he added Sunako’s food into the blender. He dropped in the deserts first-the wantons and mochi, followed by the rice and beef, topped with the egg rolls, then poured in the soup. He picked up the butcher’s knife and gave it a quick twirl just to show off. “Your arm please, Muroi-Sama?” he requested, holding out his free hand.

Seishin raised an eyebrow, but held out his right arm. The former monk closed his eyes as the knife sliced into his wrist and down the vein of the arm, allowing his blood to pour into the blender. Aside from that and hiding his left arm behind his back, he gave no reactions or signs of discomfort. Natsuno held the knife in place to keep the cut open until the soup had turned red and the liquid inside the blender just barely passed over top of the egg rolls. Tohru remained quiet in the back, the smell of blood was in the air, but the Shiki seemed to give no reaction to it. Natsuno capped the blender and set it to frappe for five minutes, blending it until everything was liquefied. He poured it into one of the to-go soup cups and scribbled Sunako’s name on it. “I’ll put this in the bag with the food I’m sending for you and Ozaki-Sensei. Maybe some warm soup will help her get well quicker.”

Seishin quietly watched his arm heal, then looked at Natsuno. “You really expect me to believe that she can eat that?” he asked.

Natsuno picked up the to-go cup and the knife and blender. “Trust me,” he said as he walked out of the room. He returned a few moments later with the knife and blender both sterilized and scrubbed clean. “Alright, Tohru-Chan, I’m ready for yours.” Tohru nodded. “Muroi-Sama, I may need your strength to hold him. There’s a reason I rarely let him watch this part.” Natsuno put Tohru’s portions into the blender, the same way he had done for Sunako’s, and took the knife to his left arm. He’d found it odd that Tohru hadn’t reacted to the scent of blood as of yet. Holding his arm over the blender, he pushed the knife into the vein at the center of his wrist and cut downward a good six inches. Unlike Seishin, Natsuno gave a slight flinch as he closed his eyes. After all these years, Tohru’s bite no longer caused him discomfort, but this still stung like hell. Natsuno blinked his eyes open and shifted them uncomfortably in the direction of the blonde Shiki. Just as he’d feared, Tohru had frozen in place, his eyes having turned their vampiric black and red rather than their beautifully human brown. The smell of Natsuno’s blood had nearly put the Shiki into a trance like state, but this wasn’t a calm, harmless trance. He was entranced by the smell, dangerously close to a hunger frenzy. “THIS is why I don’t let him watch when I do this,” he informed the former monk. “Just hang in there, Tohru!” Natsuno ordered, hoping his voice would be enough to reach the Shiki’s inner conscience and hold him in place. Seishin quietly blinked in amazement as this actually seemed to work. Tohru had smelt the blood spill of not one, but two Jinrou and yet, even in this state, was resisting the insatiable hunger that even Sunako herself still had no control over after all her years as an Okiagari. Natsuno filled the blender as full as he needed it and quickly capped it and turned it on. Keeping the wound open, he moved past Seishin and quietly approached Tohru. “Tohru-Chan?” Natsuno called softly. Seishin stood on his guard, but watched quietly as the scene played out. Natsuno used every bit of caution approaching the Shiki that one would use in greeting a wounded stray animal. In this state, one wrong move by either of the Jinrou could be misinterpreted by the Shiki as a threat. Seishin had lost count of how many times Sunako had hissed and lunged at him over the years because she couldn’t contain the hunger. Natsuno dropped the knife and gently wrapped his right arm around Tohru. He then moved his left arm just under Tohru’s nose. “Here, Tohru-Chan. Quick, before it heals.”

Seishin watched in amazement as Tohru caught hold of Natsuno’s arm with both hands and licked the wound clean. The blonde Shiki closed his eyes and slowly trailed his tongue up the younger Jinrou’s arm as the cut began to heal, until he reached the mouth of the wound, where he closed his lips around it as if he were kissing it. Tohru was calm and quiet as he drank from the bleeding vein. Tohru had taken in not only the smell of blood, but the scent of his Jinrou as well, no matter what chaos his own mind was in, no matter how ravenous the hunger that tried to over take him at that exact moment, the Shiki knew he was safe with Natsuno so close.

Seishin almost felt jealous as he watched them. He found it unfathomably amazing how these two had managed to overcome everything they had been through and still trust one another to such extent. Natsuno really was the one in full control of everything. Their bond was more than friends and lovers, more than master and vassal, it was something deeper, yet unexplainable. He couldn’t help but wonder if he and Sunako would ever reach that stage, or if, in fact, he and Toshio would ever be that close again. When Tohru pulled away from Natsuno’s arm and opened his eyes, they had returned to their normal brown luster.

Tohru looked up at Natsuno and blushed. Natsuno gently rubbed the top of his head. “Natsuno, I…” Tohru started. Natsuno shook his head and gave the Shiki a reassuring smile, letting him know everything was alright. Tohru sighed and smiled, glad to know he hadn’t done anything he might have regretted.

Natsuno hugged him tight. “It’s alright, Tohru-Chan,” he whispered. “I know that wasn’t enough to satisfy you, though. Don’t worry, it’s almost…” They heard a click from the blender as it came to a stop, “Ready.”

Seishin stepped aside, allowing Natsuno an unobstructed path to the blender. Before he took this stuff home to his mistress, he wanted proof that Shiki could drink it without any adverse effects. Natsuno poured the contents of the blender into the to-go cup and handed it to Tohru. There was more food than usual within this mixture, so the cup Natsuno had originally bought with the blender wasn’t big enough to hold it all. Natsuno handed the cup to Tohru, who flopped down on the bed before putting the cup to his lips. “Hey!” Natsuno growled, “Be careful not to get any of that on the sheets! It won’t be easy to clean up.”

Seishin’s jaw dropped as Tohru drank the concoction down without so much as a single sign of trouble. “He really is able to handle it?” the former monk murmured in surprise.

Natsuno sat on the bed next to Tohru and wrapped an arm around him. “It’s a proven method that we’ve been using for eleven years now. It holds what he needs from the blood, while giving him the nutrients, flavors, and texture that he’d become accustomed to as a human.”

“It’s more filling and taste much better than the stuff they expect us to pay for on the market, too,” Tohru added as he pulled the now empty cup away from his mouth.

“Geeze, Tohru! The hell? After all the work I put into fixing that? What’d you do, drink it all in one gulp?” Natsuno exclaimed.

Tohru flopped over, letting his head rest on Natsuno’s lap. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, smiling up at the Jinrou, “It was just that delicious.” Tohru smiled and stifled a giggle as he watched Natsuno blush.

“How come you never shared this information before?” Seishin asked.

“Didn’t care to,” Natsuno answered bluntly. “Until that stuff hit the market and I found the two of you at my front door looking for a job, I had no interest in helping your mistress. I had welcomed you in, but was worried about what she was capable of or what she might try. I wasn’t going to take any risks. But, I never expected her to look so… young. However, I have to admit she’s grown on me since then.”

“I see,” Seishin replied flatly. He figured he could understand Natsuno’s reasoning. “Well in that case, thank you for trusting me enough to share it with me now.” He bowed to them. “I appreciate the food. Good night.”

“Good night, thanks for all your help tonight,” Natsuno and Tohru unanimously bade him.

Seishin gave a quiet smile and adjusted his glasses, trying not to laugh or shake his head. Their unison was uncanny, pure and unjaded, and down right annoying. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the feeling of jealousy toward the bond between the two younger Okiagari. Though, he hoped for their sake nothing ever found its way between them. He returned to the kitchen to grab the bag of food he was to take with him and said his farewells to Aoi on his way out the door.

“Natsuno, can I ask you something?” Tohru asked, once they were alone, his head still resting in the Jinrou’s lap.

Natsuno smiled and stroked a hand through Tohru’s hair. “Why are you asking permission? Just ask,” he replied.

“What happened at Aoi’s house? There’s got to be a reason you told her to stay a while longer,” Tohru observed.

Natsuno sighed and turned his head away. “I didn’t want to worry her while we had a full house out front. For Toya-Chan’s sake, it would also be best not to let her panic, but when I got there, the place reeked of wolves, and looked as though it had been ransacked. I grabbed what I knew she wanted and what I knew they would both need. Apparently, your sister is on a first name basis with the local law enforcement, a cop saw me when I was leaving and asked me what business I had there.”

“How much did you tell him?” Tohru asked warily, sitting up right.

“I’m not spreading your sister’s dirty laundry around, Tohru,” Natsuno answered, “If she wanted the cops involved, she would have told Toya to run to them, or gone herself by now. I told him I was her brother-in-law, that she was staying away from home for a few days and she had asked me to pick up some things she had forgotten. I didn’t feel comfortable telling him anything more than that.”

“You think they may have connections to the police?” Tohru asked.

“Think back to Sotoba, it’s not entirely impossible,” Natsuno answered.

“I guess you’ve got a point,” Tohru nodded, “So I guess that means we’re on babysitting duty until this all blows over.”

Natsuno smirked. “No different than any other day around here,” he teased.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!?” Tohru objected. The Shiki blushed as the Jinrou turned his eyes toward him. “I’m three years older than you, remember?” Tohru’s blush grew even brighter as Natsuno’s lips met his. He closed his eyes and gave a soft moan.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re still adorably childish,” Natsuno said as he pulled away from the kiss.

Tohru blushed even brighter, did Natsuno really just call him adorable? That was a first. Never in the twelve and a half years that they'd known each other, would he have ever imagined that word existed within Natsuno's vocabulary. They smiled at each other and began to lean in for another kiss. This attempt was abruptly cut short, however as they heard a scream come from down the hallway.

“TOYA-CHAN!” they both exclaimed, jumping off the bed. Aoi nearly bumped into them as she darted into the hallway. All three of them reached the door at the same time. Natsuno signaled for Aoi to stay back, and for Tohru to stay close to his sister. If there was anything or anyone dangerous on the other side of that door, he wanted to keep everyone as safe as possible in the process of getting the girl out of there.


	5. Ears?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toya swears she saw a man outside the window, with fangs and green hair shaped to look like dog ears. Natsuno and Tohru can only think of one person who fits that description.

Chapter 5: Ears?

 

Warning the two Mutou siblings to be quiet, Natsuno pushed the door open and peeked in. The room appeared safe enough to enter. He flung the door open as he heard Toya give a soft whimper from inside. “Toya-Chan?” he called.

“Natsuno-Ojisan,” the girl whined, pointing at the bedroom window, “T-the window!”

Aoi and both Okiagari gave a sigh of relief, from the looks of things, the six year old had merely stirred in her sleep, perhaps waking from a nightmare. Natsuno slowly walked to the window, Aoi ran to the bed to check on her daughter. Tohru’s eyes had met with Toya’s rabbit on the bedside table and had to force himself to enter the room. “I don’t see anything,” Natsuno informed them as he looked through the window.

“It was probably just a nightmare,” Aoi said hopefully.

“NO!” Toya insisted, shaking her head. “I saw someone at the window.”

“Seishin just left, Toya-Chan,” Tohru pointed out, “Maybe you saw him walk past?”

“Nuh-uh!” she shook her head, “I know what Muroi-Sama looks like. This person had ears and scary eyes!”

Natsuno and Tohru both started at this, turning their full attention to Toya. The child clearly was frightened. “Ears?” Natsuno repeated.

Toya nodded, “He had dog ears on the top of his head. He smiled at me, when I looked up at him. He had sharp fangs, like Tohru-Ojisan’s.”

“N-Natsuno, you don’t think?” Tohru started.

“If it is, he’s masking his scent, I can’t smell him. Of all times for Sunako to be sick, she may have been the only one to contain him, if so,” Natsuno growled.

“You two know this person?” Aoi asked.

“If it’s who we think she’s talking about,” Tohru started.

“Tatsumi…” Natsuno growled.

“What? But Natsuno, you said he was in the pit with you when the dynamite blew up?” Aoi recalled.

“I made it out of there alive,” Natsuno reminded her, “Tatsumi was Sunako’s first Jinrou, she says she didn’t sire him, but he was the first to join her, he’s been one for much longer than I have. It wouldn’t come as any surprise to me that he survived, but what I can’t figure is why he would wait until now to show himself.”

“He can’t come in, can he?” Aoi asked, pulling Toya into her lap.

“Not unless someone invites him in,” Tohru replied, “That’s the one rule Jinrou and Shiki alike have to follow.”

“The restaurant out front doesn’t give him a loop hole?” Aoi asked.

“No, he can’t enter anywhere with an attached living quarters without an invitation, and then he can only enter the place of business unless invited further inside,” Natsuno explained.

“But Tatsumi’s a Jinrou,” Tohru added.

“Which means he doesn’t need to sleep any more than I do,” Natsuno said pulling the blinds shut. “Tohru, take the girls back to your room for the rest of the night,” he ordered, remembering Tatsumi and Megumi’s first attack on Tohru.

“What? Natsuno, it was a full house tonight, we’ve only got an hour and a half left until sunrise, what am I gonna’ do then?” Tohru asked.

“Tohru!” Natsuno barked, turning his eyes toward the Shiki. Tohru flinched and frowned. It wasn’t that Tohru objected to letting the girls sleep there, so much as it was the only room in the entire building without windows. Natsuno sighed and walked over to the blonde, rubbing a hand through the top of his head. “Trust me on this, alright?” he whispered, gently wrapping his arms around him, “It’s not safe to have someone as impressionable as Toya-Chan sleeping near the windows if Tatsumi’s out there. If he tries to hypnotize her, she wouldn’t be able to resist. I’ll set something up for you as a temporary haven, alright? It’s just for now, starting tomorrow, we’ll let the girls use the room at night, and then you can sleep there during the day while their awake.”

Tohru sighed and nodded, wrapping his arms around Natsuno. He knew the Jinrou would do everything within his power to keep them all safe. “Doesn’t sound like you’ll be getting a lot of sleep during all this, though. We’ll work it out that way,” he agreed, “But don’t wear yourself out in the process, alright?”

Natsuno smiled and nodded, “You don’t have to worry about me.”

They moved the girls into Tohru’s room, stuffed animals and all. Before Aoi tucked Toya in, Natsuno made sure to get Tohru’s favorite bear off the bed. Unfortunately, the Shiki was already beginning to show signs of fatigue. Natsuno would have to work quick to set him up somewhere to sleep. Natsuno could take short naps off and on throughout the day and night and stay on his guard, but as soon as the sun came up, Tohru would be completely powerless to stay awake, and entirely vulnerable if Aoi’s pursuers were to enter the house.

Tohru yawned and quietly watched Natsuno try to locate their spare blankets and pillows. Clinging tight to his bear, he offered a small suggestion. “Natsuno, you could just stuff me in the hall closet, you know. So long as the sunlight can’t reach me, I’m like a cat, I can sleep anywhere. It’ll be less work for you that way, and will allow you a chance to get some rest in your own room for a while.”

“You’d really be ok with that, Tohru?” Natsuno asked. Tohru nodded. Natsuno sighed and nodded. “If you’re certain you’ll really be ok with that. Then I suppose it’ll have to work.” The hall closet was the biggest closet they had, double-doored and deep enough to walk into, it was on an inner wall so there were no windows or vents and Natsuno had been taking great care in the last eleven years to make sure there were no holes in the building’s roof and ceiling, so there was no way the sunlight could reach through. Just as Tohru said, it was perfect. Natsuno laid down a thick quilt and a couple of pillows in the floor of the closet. Even if Tohru could sleep anywhere, Natsuno still wanted to make sure the timid Shiki was at least comfortable. “Does that suit you?” he asked as Tohru crawled into the closet.

Tohru yawned and nodded. “This will work just fine,” he assured the Jinrou as he settled into the blanket. Natsuno closed the doors. It wasn’t long before Tohru had fallen asleep.

Natsuno returned to his own room and peered back through the window. The first rays of morning light were sweeping across the horizon. There was very little to settle Natsuno’s mind with the idea that they were dealing with Werewolves. The wolves were stronger at night than during the day, but just as the Jinrou, they were capable of mobilizing both day and night. They would be hindered by a stake to the heart, but it would take a lot more force than with a Vampire to kill them with one. The few holy relics that would deter them Natsuno couldn’t keep on hand, due to Tohru’s adversity to them, and there wasn’t a single piece of silver in the entire house.

Natsuno sat on his bed, unable to sleep. Something didn’t make sense to him. If Tatsumi was still alive, allying himself with these wolves wouldn’t be such a shocking move. But why wait until now to show himself? The young Jinrou continued to mull it over in his head. Had Tatsumi, if it was indeed him that Toya saw, known that he and Tohru were still alive? Was he here for the Okiagari, or for the humans? Could it be possible that this whole thing with Aoi was just a ploy to sniff him and Tohru out?

“No,” Natsuno grumbled, shaking his head, “That can’t be the case. He would have to know we both made it out of Sotoba, but if he knew about us, I would think he would have learned about Sunako and Seishin and gone to them first.”

Natsuno jerked as a sudden, unpleasant realization hit him. The younger Mutou siblings, Aoi and Tamotsu had been leverage for Tohru getting rid of Natsuno. Tohru was to get Natsuno out of the way, taking out the one person the Shiki saw as the biggest threat, or else his brother and sister would have become their next target. Tohru carried out this task the only way he was capable of, but only succeeded in turning Natsuno into a Jinrou. “DAMN IT ALL!” Natsuno scoffed, jumping off the bed and grabbing up the phone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuno can only think of one person who fits Toya's description, but now the question is why did he take so long to show himself, and why is he causing trouble? Worried that the rest of the family may be next, Natsuno calls up Kaori and Tamotsu to finally let them know they should be on the look out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (THIS NOTE IS SHOWN AS IT WAS SUBMITTED TO FANFICTION.NET!)  
> First off, let me start by saying I’m sorry I took so long on getting this chapter posted. I’ve been working on other fan fics: “Shiki Karneval”, “Innocence Lost”, and “Happy Birthday Yogi”. This Chapter had already been written up to this point before I started Shiki Karneval, and unfortunately, I don’t remember where I was going with it, so I guess I will just name it and post it and go into the next chapter. So, let me answer a couple of questions brought up by Makany. “Are these werewolf are and look the same as jinrous or the typical kind who you can find in some horror movies? Ive gotten more confused after reading this chapter.” To answer this, should anyone else have been confused, Another Way has been in the TrueBlood universe ever since Part 2, so these are werewolves with a human form, a half-wolf form, and a full wolf form which they can take at any moment, but also have the normal “horror movie” beast wolf form, their strongest form, which they can only take on a full moon. They don’t follow any of the rules that the Jinrou and Shiki do. I never understood the series’ theory that a werewolf (Jinrou) could be sired by a vampire (Shiki), the Jinrou simply seem like Day Walkers. Though, should Muroi’s book have anything to do with the lore on how Jinrou and Shiki were created, beyond Cain being the first Jinrou (which is already wrong) and Able the first Shiki, yet Cain had killed himself not his brother, then… I can see it where perhaps the Jinrou are half-vampire half-werewolf, caught somewhere in between the two clans and able to ally themselves with either one. Let me recall you back to Chapter 1, where one of the wolves states Natsuno isn’t quite a Fang, but he does smell like one. The second thing that Makany commented on was the thought that it was weird to mix all those foods together and still say it taste good. While Natsuno would normally do one dish at a time, each separately for Tohru, he was doing several dishes at once for Tohru and Sunako both, so he had to mix them to save time. That said, Shiki do share their Jinrou brethren’s heightened senses, so if you remember the scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where Violet chews the gum and gets the full three-course meal, I imagined it’s kind of something like that, they’re capable of tasting and deciphering the flavors of each individual dish. To all my new favorites and follows for this story, I wish to thank you all, and again I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to this story. One last thing before I get started, nssix6 has asked permission to write a story set within the realm of Another Way, set shortly after Part 3 Chapter 2, so some characters may be appearing in later Chapters here. As soon as nssix6 is ready to post the first chapter to his story, I will be offering information on how to find it. Though, as he put it, it will be “an intervention (not necessarily a crossover).”

Chapter 6: Phone Calls

 

Kaori sprang awake as she heard the phone ring. Rubbing her eyes, the brown haired woman glanced at the clock. “Who the hell is calling so early in the morning?” she grumbled. Her eyes shifted to the light-brown haired man sleeping next to her. If Mutou Tamotsu took after his brother in any regard, it was that he was not an easy person to wake first thing in the morning. Kaori grumbled as she climbed out of the bed. “Hello? Who is…” Her eyes widened when she heard the voice on the other end call her name. “Ah, Natsuno!?” That was all it took, Tamotsu’s eyes were wide open and he sat upright in the bed.

Tamotsu frowned. He knew there was a part of both his wife and sister that had never fully given up on Natsuno, only distanced themselves for the sake of his happiness with Tohru. For a moment, when Kaori called Natsuno’s name, Tamotsu thought he’d caught a glimpse of that part of her. He couldn’t blame her, though, if not for Natsuno, she and her brother Akira would never have made it safely out of Sotoba. “It’s not even seven yet, why’s he calling so early?” Tamotsu yawned. He blinked and jumped out of the bed, as he realized that the sky was still dark enough at this hour, during this time of year that his older brother might still have some ability, though limited, to stay awake. “There’s not something wrong with Tohru-Niisan, is there?”

Kaori’s eyes shifted to Tamotsu and she quietly waved a hand to signal that she was trying to listen. “Huh?” she blinked, “Yes, Natsuno, we’re all fine here. Are you and Tohru-Chan alright?”

She sighed and smiled, giving Tamotsu a reassuring nod. “Tohru’s alright? That’s good,” Tamotsu said with a relieved sigh.

“Natsuno, what’s going on?” Kaori asked. “Uh…! H-Hold on a moment, I’m going to give the phone to Tamotsu.” She looked up at her husband worriedly.

“Kaori-Chan, what?” Tamotsu asked as he reached for the receiver.

“It’s about Aoi-Chan and Toya-Chan,” Kaori said, “Natsuno says we should take Natsumi and Akari and head to your parents’ house for a few days.”

“Natsuno, what’s going on?” Tamotsu asked, “Are Aoi-Chan and Toya-Chan…?”

“Tamotsu, calm down for just a moment!” Natsuno barked. “The girls are fine, for now. I don’t have enough time to tell you the details in full, and I’m sure Aoi-Chan would appreciate my discretion until she decides to fill you in, she’s not even aware I’m calling you. Look, she’s fallen into a bit of trouble and is staying with Tohru and me for a few days. We think a certain trouble maker from Sotoba may have caught up with us. He knows I helped Kaori and Akira back then, and he’s made threats against you and Aoi before. We can’t prove it’s him, but if it is, I think he’s tied in to what’s going on with Aoi. I don’t wish to alarm you, but I think it’s safer for everyone if you relocate for a few days until this all blows over. It’s possible the situation Aoi’s in is because he was pulling some strings to find her. If he’s already figured out where the rest of you are, you may be next. Better for you all to be in a group somewhere where you can keep an eye on each other. Just make sure not to let anyone else in. If at all possible, I’ll send Aoi and Toya-Chan when it’s safe enough to move them.”

Tamotsu sighed and nodded, gripping tight onto the phone receiver. “I see, thank you, Natsuno. I’ll start getting things ready to go and have Kaori call Akira. Do we need to inform your parents as well?” There was a dead silence on the other end of the phone. “Natsuno?”

“No, my ties with them have been severed for a long time now. I don’t believe either of them should be in any danger,” Natsuno answered flatly. “Just make sure the rest of you get to your parents’ house safely.”

Natsuno sighed as he hung up the phone. “Regardless of what Tatsumi knows about Tohru and me, or about Aoi in the others,” he thought to himself, “It doesn’t change the fact that he knew my mother had left that night Tohru turned me, and that my father wasn’t in his right mind. Even with everything between them back to normal, they won’t be in any danger.” Natsuno stood quietly by the phone for a moment. “Damn it! So why does the mere fact that he even mentioned them worry me so bad? They have nothing to do with this. I’m a creature they never acknowledged the existence of to begin with!”

Natsuno scoffed, turned, and stormed out of the bedroom. He was suddenly disgusted with himself. Tohru’s family was in danger, and he was going out of his way to help them, but the mere mention of his own parents suddenly made all that jealousy he’d always felt toward Tohru’s close-nit family come creeping back. When was it exactly, that he and his parents had begun drifting apart? They never stopped caring, they just became distant. Had it started before they moved to Sotoba, or after? It had been so long he couldn’t remember. Natsuno gave a disgruntled sigh and tucked his hands into his pants pockets. He quietly strolled over to the hall closet and peeked in, being careful not to open the door far enough to allow any sunlight from the parallel window to seep in. Tohru was fast asleep, his favorite stuffed bear was clung tight to his chest. Natsuno sighed and smiled. The mere sight of the blonde Shiki was always enough to cheer him up.

Tohru gave a soft sigh in his sleep. “Natsuno,” he mumbled softly.

Natsuno flinched and fell breathless. In all these years, he couldn’t recall Tohru ever calling his name while in his deep sleep. Was it possible the Shiki was aware the Jinrou was close, or was he actually capable of dreaming? As far as Natsuno could recall, the most Tohru had ever done in this state was catch hold of the Jinrou and pull him back onto the bed as he tried to leave, or snatch up his bear and roll into one position or another. It surprised him to hear the blonde actually speak.

Natsuno closed his eyes and sighed. “It’s alright, Tohru-Chan,” he said quietly. “Sleep well,” he said with a smile as he closed the door.

The Jinrou placed a hand over his heart. Feelings he would have never acknowledged when he was human were so much harder to put aside now. Natsuno sighed. He had to find some way to clear his head so he could focus on a plan. He returned to the kitchen and pulled his tray of food out of the refrigerator, taking it into the dining hall, he plopped down in the booth closest to the kitchen. He wasn’t exactly hungry, but there was no way he could force his nose into a book at the moment. This would have to do. It wasn’t like he had to worry about gaining weight if he ate when he wasn’t hungry.

Natsuno took one bite of the teriyaki beef and instantly felt better. “Nothing like a home-cooked meal to act as a pallet cleanser,” he mused to himself. He turned his eyes upward toward the restaurant windows. The closed sign was on the door, Tohru, Aoi, and Toya were all still fast asleep, it was Sunday and the streets were crowded with the people who were off work. At least for today, Natsuno could enjoy a moment of solitude without worry. A commotion would be too conspicuous with all the people passing by. This gave the purple haired Okiagari time to think.

He was convinced now; he survived the dynamite, why couldn’t Tatsumi? But how would Tatsumi have known about the two Okiagari? The other two Mutou siblings, however, Tatsumi could have been biding his time, looking for their location, to carry out his promised threats upon them. If Aoi had never set foot inside the restaurant a year ago, there’s no telling what would have happened to her and Toya.

Natsuno had had very few run-ins with Tatsumi back in Sotoba, all of them had been unpleasant. Tohru had been so frightened of the green haired Jinrou that an encounter with him even now might cause the timid blonde to become a shivering bundle of nerves. If it was indeed Tatsumi, he would be a difficult foe. There was no promise the old dog hadn’t been drinking human blood. There were rules and laws set in place involving Vampires and blood drinking now that they were ‘out of the coffin’ and drinking the blood supplements. If Natsuno were still human, Tohru would actually be breaking those laws by feeding from him everyday. The fact that Natsuno was a Jinrou actually gave them a loophole. But as a Jinrou, that meant that Natsuno, Tatsumi, Seishin, and Toshio all could feed from any source. Human food agreed with them; but blood, be it human, animal, or even Shiki heightened their senses and made them stronger. Tatsumi could be breaking the laws and feeding from humans, or if he really had allied with the wolves, he could have been drinking from them.

“This waiting around is going to drive me crazy,” Natsuno mumbled, looking back out the window, “If it IS him, he needs to make a move so I can kick his ass and get this over with.”

The next few days passed by quietly, almost too quietly. With Natsuno and Tohru both on alert, perhaps the wolves had given up, or were simply waiting for the two Okiagari to lower their guard. Natsuno eventually gave in, after three days of silence, he couldn’t allow Tamotsu and Akira to keep their children out of school for much longer. The family’s safety was important, but their absences wouldn’t be easy to explain, either. He called Tohru’s parents. Mutou-San was very pleasant as she spoke with Natsuno over the phone. She thanked him for taking the family into consideration, and for watching over Tohru and Aoi and Toya. “I’m just looking out for the people who are most important to me, Mutou-San,” Natsuno answered. Natsuno could feel the blush on his face, it surprised him to hear himself say these words to anyone but Tohru. “I just wanted the others to know they can go back home, but to stay on their guard. I’m sorry I got everyone so worried in the first place. Aoi and Toya-Chan will be staying with us for as long as needed.”

“Once all of this has blown over, you boys need to come visit us, Natsuno,” Tohru’s mother offered.

“We will, Mutou-San, we will,” Natsuno promised her.

Natsuno hung up the phone and leaned back in the seat of the booth. It had been five days now since this whole mess had started, and nothing had happened beyond the chase. Aoi’s apartment hung heavy with the scent of the werewolves who had trashed it. He thought sure they would have followed her scent, or even his to locate her by now. “What are they waiting for?” he wondered aloud.

“Natsuno-Ojisan?” Toya called out, popping her head into the dining hall.

Natsuno looked up. “Toya-Chan, what’s up?” he asked as the six year old blonde pounced her way into his lap, dragging her stuffed rabbit with her.

“I’m hungry, can you fix me something?” she asked.

Natsuno smiled at her. “What would you like me to fix?”

“Tempura sweet potato?” she chirped.

“That’s all?” Natsuno asked.

“PLEASE?” Toya asked, as innocently and cutely as she could possibly make herself sound. Just like her Uncle Tohru, she gave him those big sad puppy eyes that she knew he’d have trouble refusing.

“Now that’s just not fair!” he thought with a sigh. He smiled and patted the top of her head. “Alright, Toya-Chan. I think I can fix that for you.”


	7. Trouble At The Moon Bound Café

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once more, Natsuno's away. Once more, trouble comes knocking on the door of the Moon Bound Cafe, as a strange man enters with a gun and a stake with a cross on the end. Faced with such a weapon, Tohru does the only thing he can think to. But, something's odd about this guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (THIS NOTE IS SHOWN AS IT WAS POSTED ON FANFICTION.NET!)  
> You know, something I’ve come to realize that nobody’s ever asked me about is Tohru’s eyes. Maybe I’ve made this one rather obvious. Throughout the story, I’ve been pointing out that by drinking Natsuno’s blood, Tohru’s body is starting to act as though he’s alive again, since instead of human blood he’s drinking Jinrou blood, it’s just a bonus effect. After a year of drinking it, Tohru’s eyes had returned to the same shade of brown they had been when he was human, now only becoming black with the red lights when his Vampiric side tries to take over. It’s been eleven years now, and Tohru and Natsuno have a small psychic bond between them. Tohru’s body temperature is also back to what it had been when he was human. Unfortunately(?) there’s still no way to start his heart beating again or turn him back human. Something else I’ve come to realize; I’ve never described Natsuno and Tohru’s work clothes for when they open the restaurant, and I’ve never bothered to name it, or the three girls that were all over Natsuno, either. I’ll have to work on that. Also, I’m giving the first hints toward nssix6’s story in these next few chapters.

Chapter 7: Trouble At The Moon Bound Café

 

Natsuno entered the kitchen, Toya quietly following behind him, arms wrapped tight around her rabbit. The Jinrou began to dig out all his necessary ingredients for making the child’s requested Tempura Sweet Potatoes. She watched quietly as he cleaned, chopped, and started coating the potatoes. He smiled, reached over and patted the top of her head. “Why are you watching me so intently, Toya-Chan?” he chuckled.

“Natsuno-Ojisan, can I help?” she chirped.

Natsuno smiled. “Alright, hold on a minute.” He went and found her a stepstool. “Here, let’s put ‘Lucky’ on a counter out of the way, so he won’t get dirty, and then wash your hands, alright?” Toya nodded as Natsuno sat her rabbit to the side and helped her wash her hands. The oil was already on the stove to heat, so he let Toya help put the tempura batter on the potatoes.

“Why are you making so many?” she asked. “Momma doesn’t eat them, you know.”

Natsuno nodded. “I know. But I do, and your Uncle Tohru might like some when he gets up.”

“How can he have them?” she asked.

“I have a special way of fixing them for him,” the Jinrou winked at her.

Once the sweet potatoes were ready, he and Toya took their share, and her rabbit, and went back out to the dinning hall. Taking the back booth, they sat down and split the dish between themselves. When they were through, Toya even helped clear up the plates.

To prevent herself from going stir crazy, Aoi insisted on going grocery shopping. She even went so far as waving her cell phone in front of Natsuno’s face to assure him she had a way of contacting him if anything went wrong. This left Natsuno stuck babysitting until either she got back, or Tohru woke up to keep an eye on the girl.

When Tohru woke up, he noticed the place seemed rather quiet. He slipped out into the hall and went down toward Natsuno’s room. He could hear the television. He smiled when he cracked open the door. Natsuno was leaned against the wall at the head of the bed, having dozed off. Toya had also fallen asleep watching cartoons and was snuggled up to the Jinrou. Tohru gave a soft chuckle and turned off the TV. “Natsuno?” he whispered, giving his Jinrou a gentle shake.

Natsuno blinked his eyes open. He smiled at the Shiki. “Sorry, guess I fell asleep, didn’t I?”

“You’re not the only one,” Tohru quietly chuckled, pointing to the sleeping six year old. “I never thought you’d be so good with kids, ya’ know.”

“Neither did I,” Natsuno admitted.

“Where’s Aoi-Chan?” Tohru asked, settling in on the bed next to him.

“She insisted on going shopping,” Natsuno growled. “I tried to talk her out of it, but well, stubborn runs in your family.”

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Tohru laughed. “So, how long has she been gone?”

“What time is it?”  
“The sun just went down, I guess seven or eight?”  
“About four or five hours now, then. She has her phone if anything happens.”  
“I’m going to call and check on her, then.”

“I’m so tired of just waiting around and doing nothing,” Natsuno grumbled, as he joined Tohru in the hall. “Whoever this is, I wish they’d make a move, rather than leaving us sitting like a bunch of lab rats in a maze.”

“Aoi-Chan says she’s on her way back, now,” Tohru said as he hung up the cordless phone. “… I have noticed you’re a bit more apprehensive than usual these last couple of days. Having them here isn’t too much for you to handle is it?”

“Of course not. Aoi-Chan and Toya-Chan aren’t the problem at all,” Natsuno assured him. Although, in truth, he was starting to miss his free time with Tohru. There were certain things he wouldn’t dare do with Aoi and Toya in the house.

Once again, the night passed uneventfully. Now, Natsuno was really getting irritated with these wolves. What were they waiting for? He sat down with Aoi the next day. It had been nearly a week, now. He wasn’t going to throw them out, he wanted to know for certain that the threat was gone before he sent her home, but something simply told him that wasn’t the case. So they agreed he’d go back to her place and see if it looked as though anyone had been snooping again since the last time he was there. He was thinking maybe he could force them to make a move if he left for a couple of hours.

When Natsuno reached Aoi’s penthouse, it was in an even bigger mess than he remembered it being the last time. “I didn’t think it was possible for this place to become a bigger mess,” he sighed, taking note that even her kitchen and Toya’s bedroom had been picked through this time around. He had wanted to clean the place up before the girls returned home the last time he was here, but that would leave an obvious sign someone had been in the house, should the wolves return. “Seems they’ve been here pretty recently, too,” he grumbled waving a hand in front of his face as he passed by the hall bathroom. “Geeze, what’d they do, bathe in here? This place is rank with the smell of wet fur.” He froze and began to listen. He could have sworn he heard someone in the back bedroom. “They’re using this place as a base until she returns?” he thought. He cautiously made his way toward the bedroom. If someone was there, he could get some answers, or a fight. At this point, the Jinrou would welcome either one.

******************************************************************************************  
*~Meanwhile~*  
******************************************************************************************

Aoi and Tohru were on their own for the night, at least until Natsuno got back. The restaurant was full of customers, several regulars. Minami and his group were there, as were the three girls that always came to ogle Natsuno. After ten years of these girls, Tohru finally learned their names; Minako the brown headed girl, Risa, the black headed one, and his least favorite, or rather his favorite of the three, the one who first started him down the path of teasing the girls every time they came in, Rana, the red head.

“What’s with those girls, Tohru-Niisan?” Aoi asked, noticing the look he gave them as they sat down. “You always seem a little on edge when they come in.”

Tohru chuckled. “It’s nothing, they’re just a group of girls who come in to admire Natsuno. I find a new way to tease them every time they come in. I think I’ll let you wait on them tonight. By the way, I guess I never stopped to tell you this, Sis, but our uniform looks pretty good on you.”

Natsuno had never bothered with the idea of a uniform, outside of an apron for the two of them in the kitchen, at least, not until Seishin, Sunako, and Toshio had started helping them. First off, he didn’t expect to be around for more than nine years, to have to change uniforms as well as restaurant names every few years would only prove a hassle, but with more employees and no need to move, he realized he needed to do something to make things a little more presentable. When the uniforms first arrived, both Shiki initially voiced their objections to the idea of wearing them, until they actually put them on. Natsuno was head kitchen staff, his was something of a butler’s uniform, black slacks and vest with a white button up underneath, his name on the left breast pocket, and a white full-body apron with the restaurant’s name. Toshio and Seishin were given something a little less dressy, but still quite attractive, rather than black, their suits were gray, no vests, just the pants and shirts with sleeves that stopped at their elbows, and a small white hat on their heads with the restaurant name. Aoi was wearing a similar uniform to what Sunako would be wearing, a white button up shirt with short sleeves, stopping well above her elbows, and a black skirt that reached to her knees. Hers was a bit tighter and less frilly than Sunako’s, as Natsuno had ordered Sunako’s specifically to her style. The restaurant’s name was printed on the left breast pocket of the shirt and on the bottom of the skirt, in about the same place it would be found if it had been a poodle skirt. Tohru’s was a similar outfit to Natsuno’s, as he worked both with the customers and in the kitchen, only his outfit didn’t have the vest, and his apron, much like the girls’ was only a short one tied around the waist. Sunako had fallen in love with hers instantly, Tohru adored the way Natsuno looked in his, Toshio complained he and Seishin looked ridiculous. Everyone had fallen in love with Tohru in his, however; Okiagari and human alike.

Aoi blushed. “You think so?” she asked, looking herself over. “I never bothered to pay attention to how it looked. Thank you.” She looked down and read the name of the restaurant, “Hey, Tohru? I’ve been meaning to ask about the name. Moon Bound Café just seems a bit too romantic for Natsuno’s taste, did you come up with it?”

Tohru smiled. “That’s right,” he nodded with a chuckle. “Natsuno wanted to do a nighttime restaurant, so that it would be convenient for me, rather than sending me out hunting for a night job somewhere, it would be something we could do together. He’d put so much work into planning everything else, though, that he never even thought about giving the place a name until he had to sign the paperwork to get our license to open. There aren’t many café style restaurants that open after night fall and stay open until just a few spry hours before dawn, you know. So, he asked me what I would call it. Given all the circumstances, I went with what I felt was the most appropriate name, Moon Bound Café,” he explained. Aoi smiled and nodded. She had suspected as much, the moment she first walked through the door a year ago to find the brother she’d thought long lost standing there as the waiter.

Suddenly, the door clinked open. Tohru looked past his sister at the person who just entered the room. Something about this guy felt wrong. “Who is that?” Aoi asked, almost sounding as if she even felt something wasn’t right.

“Never seen him before,” Tohru answered. He glanced around, he wasn’t the only one who knew something was off about this guy, most of the regulars had looked up. “He’s not an Okiagari, he never would have made it over the threshold without an invitation. He’s not a wolf or hunter either,” the Shiki thought, “… A ghoul or thrall perhaps? But if so, who’s?”

“Tohru, I don’t like the look of him at all,” Aoi whispered worriedly.

“I’ll take care of him, Sis,” Tohru said, “Stay put.” Aoi nodded quietly. “Excuse me, Sir?” Tohru approached the guy, with a smile, trying to act normal. “Hello,” he bowed, “Welcome to Moon Bound Café, is this your first time visiting us?”

“Cut the crap,” the guy answered.

“Eh…? Excuse me?” Tohru blinked at him.

“I’m here to talk to her,” the guy nodded toward Aoi.

“I’m afraid she’s a little busy at the moment, Sir,” Tohru stated curiously.

There was a scream from one of the tables. Female. Most likely Rana, and a murmur from the rest of the diners, as the man drew something out of his pocket and pointed it at Tohru. “I said I’m here for her, now step out of the way,” the man replied.

Tohru blinked at the man, as if he were stupid, then gave a grin and chuckle, forcing his eyes closed and rubbing the back of his head. “I’m sorry, Sir, but I’m going to have to ask you to put that away or leave. My sister’s busy, you’re disturbing my customers…” He brushed a strand of golden hair out of his face and slowly opened his eyes. Tohru opened his eyes, most of these people were all regulars, it wasn’t like he had to hide anything. His eyes were no longer brown when he opened them, but black, with the red lights glowing in his irises. “A~hn~d it’s going to take a L~O~T more than a gun to scare me,” he laughed. The customers all slowly began to huddle closer to whoever they had been sitting with at the time. Sure they knew what he was, but he’d never shown this side of himself before.

The man laughed and cocked the gun as he reached into his coat to pull something else out. “I was told there’d be Vampires,” he said. Tohru flinched as he took in the sight of what the man held in his hand. It was a stake, but not just any stake, it was shaped like a cross at the top. “They also said you were the weakest and most cowardly of the five, and that you would be the only one here tonight. Hand over the girl and her daughter and there won’t be any further trouble.”

“Y-You were ‘told’? W-Who sent you!” Tohru demanded, taking a step backwards and trying to advert his eyes from the cross. He blinked and his eyes were once again normal, but he was doing his best to hide the fear in them over the weapon held in the man’s hand. “Y-You do realize you’ve got a room full of witnesses, right?”

The man gave a chortle, when he noticed the Shiki’s aversion. “It won’t matter, by the time the cops get here, I’ll be long gone, and you’ll be laid to rest.” The man came at Tohru with the cross, realizing that even though frightened, the blonde had no intentions of getting out of the way.

Tohru panicked. He managed to move aside as quickly as possible, avoiding the tip of the cross-like stake, catching the man’s wrist in his hand. Without thinking of what he was doing, he leaned in and bit the man on the neck. As his fangs pierced the man’s flesh, the first thought that ran through his head was to hypnotize the man into telling everything, then send him to turn himself in to the cops, but this would only work if another Vampire hadn’t bit him first. “Tohru-Niisan!” Aoi exclaimed, feeling extremely thankful that Toya was watching cartoons in Natsuno’s bedroom away from all the noise, with the window blinds shut.

Tohru’s eyes widened with realization as the first hint of blood entered his mouth. He dropped the man and slumped to his knees, holding his stomach. He quickly snatched an empty cup off of one of the tables and spat the blood out with a cough. “What the hell…?” he gagged.

“Tohru?” Aoi ran to her brother’s side, worriedly. There was a clank as the door swung open and shut, the man having decided to run after being bitten.


	8. Kobun-Kun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuno returns to the Moon Bound Cafe already in a bad mood. Why are there police cars outside? Why does everything around here happen when he's gone? Tohru did WHAT!? Natsuno has a decision to make, and Tohru's almost too frightened to even look at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’ve found somewhere online to read the Shiki Manga, FINALLY. I just finished reading the third Chapter and am in the middle of Chapter 4, and let me just say… SO THAT’S WHERE SHE BIT HIM, OMG! I FEEL STUPID FOR NOT FIGURING THAT OUT SOONER! WHY DID THE ANIME NEVER SHOW US THAT!? Oh, and his wake was in the same day? Damn, that’s quick.

Chapter 8: Kobun-Kun

 

Natsuno returned to the restaurant in a fowl mood. Who ever had been at Aoi’s penthouse had given him the slip. He froze. Outside sat several customers and police cars. “WHY THE HELL IS IT THAT NOTHING EVER HAPPENS AROUND HERE UNTIL I LEAVE!?” he growled, running toward the restaurant.

“Excuse me, Sir, but you can’t go in there,” one of the cops tried to stop him.

Natsuno glared at the cop. “I own the place, what’s going on?” he demanded.

“Natsuno!” Aoi called out to him. She was cradling Toya in her arms, worry and fear written across her face. She almost looked like she was putting effort into preventing herself from crying.

“Aoi, what’s going on?” Natsuno asked, pushing past the cop and running up to his sister-in-law.

“Tohru-Niisan…” she started. She closed her eyes and shook her head, she knew Natsuno had every right to know what was going on, but she was afraid for her brother at the same time. “Tohru…”

“What…happened?” Natsuno asked.

“There was a disturbance, sir,” the officer interjected. “Some guy burst in the joint, in the middle of all these people.” The cop pointed over his shoulders at the customers who were giving their statements. “So far, their accounts all add up. The man entered and pulled a gun, demanding the lady here and the girl leave with him. He then pulled out a stake and lunged at the Vampire, who in turn bit him.” Natsuno froze at those words. “The man turned tail and ran after that, but the Fang hasn’t come out for questioning.”

The look Natsuno threw the cop at that moment, was all the conveyance needed for the officer to understand that using the word ‘Fang’ would have signed a death warrant if not for the uniform he was wearing.

“Natsuno,” Aoi caught hold of Natsuno’s sleeve, “That man tried to kill him, he acted the only way he knew how to defend himself.” She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “He couldn’t even swallow the blood, he spit it out. It almost seemed like it made him sick.”

“Aoi, let go,” Natsuno said firmly. She let go of him and put a hand to her mouth. Natsuno’s eyes were glowing purple. She knew the Jinrou’s eyes worked similar to those of a Shiki’s but this was her first time to see it.

“Natsuno…?” she quietly pleaded with him.

Natsuno ignored her and stormed inside the building. This night had gone from bad to worse. He forced the door to Tohru’s bedroom open. “Tohru?” he called.

The Shiki had wedged himself into the far corner, hiding behind the bed. More than anything, the Jinrou was what he feared the most at this moment. The moan that came from him when the door slammed open, however, denoted more nauseam than fear. Natsuno could see him trying to scramble further against the wall. “Natsuno,” Tohru whimpered.

Natsuno sighed and approached the Shiki. “Tohru…” The blonde flinched and closed his eyes, knowing he couldn’t fight off the Jinrou if he tried. “Tohru-Chan, calm down!” Natsuno said, kneeling in front of him. “For crying out loud, I know what happened, but you were acting in self defense, right?”

“Yeah, but…?” Tohru blinked at him, curiously. Natsuno could see the fear in his eyes.

“Our agreement was that you weren’t to feed off of humans anymore, wasn’t it?” Natsuno reminded him. “I never said anything against defending yourself when I’m not there to protect you. We made that agreement so you wouldn’t have to senselessly kill anyone else, I can’t fault you for protecting yourself and others.” He smiled and reached out for the frightened Shiki. “Come here. I know you wouldn’t hurt someone without a good reason.” Tohru relaxed and let Natsuno pull him closer. “Hey, look at me. Are you alright?” He tilted Tohru’s head upward. His voice was calm and soothing. He knew the last thing Tohru needed right now was a stern hand, instead he needed comforting and understanding.

Tohru shook his head. “I couldn’t even swallow that guy’s blood,” he groaned. He really did seem ill. “It was the most fowl taste I’d ever experienced, almost like he’d taken some sort of repellant or something.”

“Repellant…? Tohru-Chan, what exactly happened?” Natsuno asked. They both knew someone who was working on a Vampire repellant, but the last they knew, it wasn’t quite ready to be sold yet.

Tohru recounted the incident, everything from the moment the stranger walked in, to the moment he left. “Something was weird about him, I could tell from the moment he walked in. He was prepared for a fight with a Vampire, and he was after Aoi and Toya-Chan. When he pulled the gun, I thought revealing myself as a Vampire would scare him away, he seemed like a ghoul or thrall, but wasn’t really acting like he’d been hypnotized. But when I revealed myself, he pulled out that stake with the cross…” Tohru shuddered, casting his eyes toward the ground. “When he came at me, I admit I panicked, I did the only thing that I could think to. In the end, I-I wasn’t even able to hypnotize him into turning himself over and telling who sent him.” He shyly turned his eyes back to Natsuno. “You were ready for them to make a move…” he gave a weak laugh at this last statement.

“But I didn’t expect them to be stupid enough to do something in front of so many people,” Natsuno sighed, shaking his head. Natsuno pulled the collar away from his neck and gently wrapped his arms around the blonde Shiki and soothed a hand through his hair. He smiled when he felt Tohru gently nuzzle his neck. “It’s alright, Tohru-Chan.” Tohru nodded and gently bit into Natsuno’s neck, feeling better almost as soon as his Jinrou’s blood washed over the tips of his fangs. “The police wanted to interrogate you, but said you’d barricaded yourself in.” Natsuno glanced toward the door, he’d almost thrown it off its hinges when he forced it open. If he’d been in Tohru’s position, he probably would have been frightened, too. “I guess I owe you a new door, now,” he laughed. “I won’t force you to go out there and talk to them, if you don’t want to, but I will tell them we want to press charges against the guy if they find him.” Tohru drank his fill and slowly pulled away. “There, feeling better?”

Tohru nodded. “I’m sorry, Natsuno, I guess I really screwed things up this time?” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes. “No telling how many of our regulars I scared off tonight in all of this commotion.”

“Are you kidding?” Natsuno chuckled. “The officer outside said everyone was giving the same story; the man walked in, demanded Aoi and Toya leave with him and pulled a gun. They’re hailing you as a hero out there. Hell, I even heard Rana say she never realized just how awesome you really were.”

Tohru blinked, “SHE said that? Oh Gods, I don’t want those girls to suddenly start flirting with me instead.”

Natsuno laughed and pulled Tohru up to his feet. “Come on, your sister’s worried sick out there,” he said, “and she has every right to be.”

“Huh…?” Tohru blinked at Natsuno. “Natsuno, what happened at Aoi’s place?”

“There was someone inside when I got there. They had torn through the kitchen and Toya’s room as if they were hunting something. I heard them in the back bedroom and went to go find them, however, they had snuck out through the back window. Somehow, I couldn’t track their scent, though.”

“Just like that night Toya-Chan said she saw someone at the window?” Tohru asked. He blinked, “Maybe it’s this city air, too many people compared to Sotoba, even after eleven years, it’s hard to pick out a single person if you haven’t been around them a long time.”

“That’s a reasonable excuse for you,” Natsuno sighed, “You grew up out there. I haven’t had a single drop of blood since before I fought Tatsumi back then, it could just be that my senses have become extremely dulled. With the laws that have been in place for the past year, it’s not like I can just go out and bite someone either. Donors have to be willing and then can only be bitten once a month thanks to this new drink and Vampires finally being exposed. I can deal with that, and I’m not human, so it’s a convenient loophole for you. I don’t know how Sunako handles it, she clearly doesn’t feed from Seishin and Toshio very often.”

“Speaking of which, I talked to Muroi-Sama last night. He said Sunako’s getting better and may actually be able to get out and about again by tomorrow. Even though they work with us, they seem to be well informed on the movements of other Okiagari here in the city. They’ve also been keeping a close watch on the actions of Miko Misaki since the last time we encountered her. I asked him if he knew anything about anyone matching Tatsumi’s description, but he’s heard nothing of the sort. Whoever this is, it’s getting stranger and stranger the more we learn about it,” Tohru exposited as he followed Natsuno outside. He was a little nervous to go near the cops; not sure how they would treat the situation. Natsuno had made it clear he’d forgiven him for his actions, however, so he knew the Jinrou wouldn’t let anything happen.

“Sunako’s always had her methods of getting information,” Natsuno grunted his acknowledgement. “Maybe we should ask Aoi-Chan if she’s willing to let the three of them know what’s going on. They’re informed on the Okiagari, but it might do us some good to learn what they know about the werewolves. If she’s well enough to come out tomorrow, I might just ask her. In the meantime, it might be prudent to temporarily close down until we’ve flushed this menace out into the open. We can’t risk any customers getting caught in the crossfire and injured.” Tohru nodded his agreement.

The officer from earlier greeted them at the door. “So, this is the Fang?” he asked.

Natsuno shot him that look again. “Excuse me officer, but aside from our sister out there who was that guy’s target, there isn’t a single member of my staff who isn’t a Vampire, I would appreciate it if you NOT use such derogatory slang.”

The crowd fell silent. Natsuno had finally confirmed the suspicions of every one of the regulars. They were by no means frightened, after all, the Moon Bound Café had been there for the past ten years and this was the first incident in all that time.

Rana blinked, looking up at the two Okiagari. “I had always suspected I’d heard something inhuman in Yuuki-Kun’s voice that night. It came as no surprise to me to learn he was a Vampire,” she admitted, “But Yuuki-San, too…?”

“That does make a few things make much more sense,” Risa said quietly, remembering how Tohru had once told the trio of girls that Natsuno would ‘destroy’ them if he ever took them to bed, among a few other little things they’d noticed over the years.

“Ah, I see,” the officer stammered, rubbing the back of his head, “I’m sorry, I meant no offence,” he apologized, looking to Natsuno. He then turned his eyes to Tohru. “Excuse me, Sir, would you mind making a statement?”

“I honestly don’t know what I can offer that you haven’t already heard from everyone else,” Tohru said, refusing to make eye contact with the officer. “But…” He at least made an effort to look the man in uniform in the face, “I’ll do whatever I can to help catch the guy.”

“Just a few questions, Sir,” the officer nodded. Natsuno and Tohru both took notice of the officer’s sudden change in behavior, he almost seemed nervous, as if realizing he had stepped out on thin ice without a life line to pull him back. It wasn’t the timid blonde Shiki whom all the commotion was centered around that was making him feel this way, either; but rather the stern but quiet purple-haired Jinrou standing between them. Tohru nodded his agreement to cooperate with the officer, but quickly caught hold of Natsuno’s sleeve, quietly pleading not to be left alone, knowing the Jinrou could read his mind. Natsuno patted his hand and gave him a quiet nod. The cop began taking down Tohru’s statement. Tohru’s description of the man was someone in a faded grey leather trench coat with a brown hat and kaki colored pants, with a black button up shirt. The man’s hair was shoulder length and scraggly, under the hat it was hard to tell the exact color, but he was guessing a light brown, and his eyes were chestnut colored, he stood about the same height as Tohru, if not half an inch taller. He didn’t appear homeless, but didn’t exactly appear reputable either, as his presence seemed to disturb everyone the moment he passed through the door. Tohru wasn’t very well knowledge on guns, but said it had looked like a Luger, which he tended to recognize from an Anime he use to watch. The officer paused when Tohru mentioned spitting the blood into the cup. Nobody else had brought that up yet. “Sir, that cup hasn’t been disposed of, has it?” the officer asked.

“Huh?” Tohru blinked. “No,” he shook his head and put a finger to his lips, “We haven’t cleaned up any of the tables yet, so it should still be there.”

“You’re welcome to take it as evidence, if need be,” Natsuno granted, guessing what the officer must have been thinking.

The officer nodded. “Our forensics team could cross reference the DNA from the blood to see if this guy has a record.”

“DO IT!” the two Okiagari said simultaneously.

“We intend to press charges if you catch this guy,” Natsuno stated. “Tohru-Chan, take the officer inside and show him which glass it was.” Tohru nodded and led the cop inside.

******************************************************************************************  
*~Meanwhile~*  
******************************************************************************************

“Kobun-Kun,” a voice greeted the man. The voice was a low growl and its owner remained hidden in the shadows. “Where are the girls?”

“I did as you said, I went to the restaurant. Before I could even reach the woman, the Fang got in the way,” Kobun started explaining.

“I gave you what you needed to take care of him, didn’t I?” the voice growled.

Kobun nodded. “You did, but you didn’t warn me he was that fast.” The man rubbed his neck. “He started to back away, as soon as I pulled the stake, but when I went at him with it, moved aside, caught my wrist, and bit my neck. I don’t know where you got that stuff, but it worked. He didn’t have a chance to hypnotize me before I got out of there, and he spit my blood out rather quickly, acting as if it made him ill just to taste it.”

“So, you left without bringing back either target? You could have slipped over the fence into the back yard, and snatched the child out of the living quarters without anyone noticing,” the voice sighed.

“I stuck around for a while, hidden in an alley way, but someone had already called the cops,” Kobun admitted, “So I had to leave.”

“IDIOT!” the voice exclaimed. “You failed to bring back either of the girls, and you failed to even scratch the weakest of the Okiagari, when he was there with none of the others to back him up, and the cops were there?”

“I don’t know who called them, but it didn’t take them long to get there,” Kobun stated, so it must have been right when I pulled the gun that the call was made.”

“Worthless!” the voice growled. “I’ll make sure they don’t get any DNA samples, and give you another chance. Screw up like this again, and it’ll be your last, do you understand?”

“Y-Yes sir!”


	9. Exposition, Fairy Tales, and Kidnappings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunako is finally feeling better and she and her two Jinrou; Seishin and Toshio, sit with Natsuno, Tohru, and Aoi, trying to figure things out. The conversation slowly becomes more personal and Natsuno sticks his foot in his mouth, causing Tohru to leave. Tohru and Toya-Chan have an adorable moment of reading fairy tales together, wherein she assigns the rolls of the characters to those currently in the building. But they're rudly interrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMIGOSH! Exposition Chapter! Guys, I’m really sorry if this story’s starting to turn into what Linkara from Atop the Fourth Wall would call, “Should we do something? We should do something!” I’m trying to get back to the action, but I’ve been gone from the story for so long, I’m having to work my way back into it, so, this chapter is a lot of exposition that even I’m finding a bit awkward. Oh, and my little twist on a Grimm’s Brothers fairy tale. I tried not to word it exactly like the book, and added a small part to the story’s end.

Chapter 9: Exposition, Fairy Tales, and Kidnappings

 

Sunako, Seishin, and Toshio all arrived at the Moon Bound Café as soon as they could the next night. Aoi had agreed to letting them know what was going on. Sunako apologized, but she had no news that was helpful. She’d not heard anything about Tatsumi since he had left to fight Natsuno eleven years ago. She had always had a soft spot for Tatsumi, he wasn’t her Jinrou, but he was always just as loyal as if he had been.

They also had very little information on the werewolves, though Sunako had heard that Miko Misaki was back in the neighborhood hunting one. With the laws in place for Vampires, things had become difficult for Miko Misaki’s line of business as well, as Hunters were only able to work as mercenaries now. The mere mention of the Hunter being back in town was enough to make Tohru shudder. Their last encounter had not been pleasant. Sunako blinked at Natsuno. “Speaking of Hunters, I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Natsuno-Kun,” she said. “I seem to recall having once heard that you were able to sense Megumi-Chan’s presence before she ever appeared at Tohru’s house.”

Aoi and Tohru both blinked at Natsuno, who nodded. “That’s right. She stalked me while she was alive. After she died, I could still feel her watching me; it’s why I started sleeping at the Mutou house. I felt safer there, knowing Tohru-Chan was close by.” Everyone smiled, realizing the irony in how it was now the other way around. Tohru quietly wrapped his arms around Natsuno’s arm and leaned his head on the Jinrou’s shoulder. “That night she first attacked him, I could sense her and Tatsumi outside the house. I figured I was dreaming, I wasn’t at home, I was with Tohru-Chan, who or whatever had been making me feel uneasy at my place shouldn’t have been able to come after me.”

“Even not knowing what we were, they couldn’t gain entry without an invitation,” Sunako stated.

Tohru flinched and adverted his eyes, remembering the night he’d thrown Masao out of his room for trying to fight with Natsuno. When the fifteen year old fell asleep right after that, Tohru pulled the covers over him and went outside to buy a drink from a nearby vending machine. Tatsumi helped him get his yen piece out from under the vending machine and he, being his usually, friendly, neighborly self, invited Tatsumi to visit him at home. When Tatsumi asked permission to bring a friend, Tohru thought nothing of it and said yes. Natsuno blinked and looked at Tohru. Sometimes that psychic link that had developed between them was a curse more than a blessing. “Tohru-Niisan, you didn’t?” Aoi exclaimed, knowing how to read the look on her brother’s face.

Natsuno sighed. “What’s done is done, I suppose,” he said with an understanding sigh. He wouldn’t have been Tohru if he hadn’t made the invitation. He ruffled the blonde Shiki’s hair, then continued. “I’m not sure how, but from the second story, I could sense that one of them had opened the front door and came up the stairs. I instantly believed it was Shimizu. But when the door opened, Aoi was there, thinking we were both asleep, she turned and went back to her room, muttering something about homework. The next thing I knew, Shimizu was crawling out from under Tohru-Chan’s bed, and Tatsumi was sitting in the now open window. Natsuno blinked and looked back at Tohru. “By the way, where the hell did she bite you, anyway?”

“Huh…?” Tohru blinked.

“She leaned in for your neck, but when I woke you, there were no bite marks. When I asked to see your face at the funeral, I looked again, still no bite marks,” Natsuno pointed out.

“She bit my arm,” Tohru answered, “That first night, I had just thought it was bug bites. It wasn’t until that last night that I finally even realized what was going on. She kept me hypnotized, until the last night. I stayed home from school and played my video game the whole day my last day alive. I told Dad it was just the summer flu, that much I remember,” Tohru hung his head. “She came back that night…” He closed his eyes. The others blinked as he leaned forward and put his hand to his head, as if he suddenly remembered something that had been repressed inside his memories. “That last night, she didn’t bother hypnotizing me. Tatsumi had been spying during the day, and heard Natsuno at school with Aoi, when she told him I was skipping. Aoi had asked if Natsuno wanted come over that night…”

Natsuno and Aoi both nodded remembering the conversation. “I told him you were playing hooky because of your new game and invited him to walk home with me,” she said.

“But I turned her down,” Natsuno stated, “I told her I would come the next day, early in the morning, because you had asked me to help you with something.”

Tohru leaned back in the seat and looked up at Natsuno, both of them sharing a quiet understanding. Tohru had wanted to ask Ritsuko on a drive, the pretense being a date with her, he asked Natsuno to join them because he was too nervous. Though, Tohru had admitted by now his ulterior motives. “She was furious when Tatsumi told her Natsuno was coming to see me again. She came to my room that last night and lorded it over me that she was going to kill me. She kept her hand over my mouth so I couldn’t scream, something filled the air preventing me from moving. She carried on about how jealous she was that I had gotten close to ‘her Yuuki-Kun’…” the way he said those words made everyone shudder. He didn’t sound jealous, but very protective. “Natsuno never gave her the time of day, but slowly, he and I became close, I knew just the right amount of space to give him, while still getting him to open up to me. She just expected him to like her instantaneously. She was determined that if she couldn’t have him, she wouldn’t let him be with anyone else, either. With me gone, and Natsuno being such a tsundere, she was certain such would be the case. I’d forgotten about how she’d acted when I rose again, but I knew she had been the one who’d done it to me. … I kind of liked seeing the look on her face when she learned she’d turned me,” he admitted. Everyone fell uncomfortably silent, that was a confession none of them had expected from Tohru.

After a brief moment, Sunako cleared her throat, and attempted to drift back to the original topic. “But, Megumi-Chan wasn’t the ONLY one of us you were able to sense, was she, Natsuno-Kun?” she asked.

“No, you’re right,” Natsuno sighed, leaning back in the seat. “The first time Tohru came for me. Just like with Megumi her first night at Tohru’s house. I knew I had locked the front door, because my parents had allowed that girl into my room. But somehow, I knew someone was outside in the bushes, and I could sense them move around the house to our front door. I was aware of the door being unlocked, and tried to convince myself that it was just my father unlocking it. Then, I saw the shadow outside my window. At first, I thought it was the guy who had attacked Kaori-Chan when she and Akira and I dug up Shimizu’s grave. But then… I heard him call my name, and I knew immediately who it was. But before that, the same day as Tohru’s funeral; I had received a postcard in the mail from Shimizu, which I ripped to pieces and threw out the window. That night, I could sense her outside my room. Without even looking, I knew who or whatever was outside my window was crying and collecting the pieces. Naturally, I assumed it was Shimizu.”

“You were also aware of Tatsumi’s presence when he joined Megumi at Tohru’s house,” Sunako pointed.

“…? I was also aware of his presence when he was spying on Kaori and Akira the first time I met them outside Kanemasa, and I immediately realized he was the same person who’d been with Shimizu at Tohru’s house. Are you actually going somewhere with all this, Sunako?” Natsuno growled.

The tiny Shiki female stifled a giggle. “You had a special ability, Natsuno-Kun, you were able to sense us. You were a sleeper, slowly awakening as a Hunter. At the time, you were a Dreamer, or a Seer. Had you not been turned, you would have been a Seeker; either able to work as a Hunter, or to contract out to them for information when they needed to locate us. Miko Misaki has been around long enough she can tell a Vampire or Werewolf is one, just by their aura, but even she can’t sense their movements like you could have. As a Jinrou, those abilities should have been enhanced, not dulled. These abilities are also part of why drinking your blood has given you and Tohru such a strong psychic bond. Even if I were to feed from Toshio and Seishin everyday for the next hundred years, the three of us would still never be on the level you two are now. But by then, the two of you could be halfway around the world apart from each other and still read each other’s thoughts. The fact that you haven’t drank blood yourself for since Kaori and Akira willingly gave some of their own…”

“WHAT!?” Tohru and Aoi exclaimed. Toshio gave a quiet grunt.

Natsuno sighed and gave a quiet nod. “I have only ever drank blood five times since I rose up,” he admitted, “Ozaki-Sensei here was the first, my father was the second, in order to regain entry to my home, Akira and Kaori were next, before I went in to fight Tatsumi…”

Sunako blinked. “Five? That’s only four.”

“Who do you think hypnotized Kirishiki Seishirou into shooting Yoshie and then himself?” Natsuno admitted. Sunako froze. She was stunned. If this wasn’t Natsuno and Tohru’s ‘den’, she would have leapt across the table and attacked him herself for such an admission. “These last three were simply in order to put a stop to what was happening in Sotoba. I had no desire for feeding from humans, and didn’t care for the taste of the blood at all. I’ve not had a single drop since we left.”

Sunako hung her head. What was past was past, and she and her Jinrou were now in a situation that made them every bit as reliant upon Tohru and Natsuno as they were on them. “In any case,” she quietly continued, “My point was that even without drinking blood, these abilities were something you had when you were human, they should still be with you now as well. Though, if your opponent is masking his scent somehow, then you may need to feed ‘properly’ in order to detect them.”

“Does it have to be human blood?” Tohru asked. “If all he needs is blood, couldn’t he drink from me like I do from him, since I am the one who sired him?”

“I honestly don’t know. Usually, a Jinrou feeding from a Shiki for any purpose other than mating is a dangerous thing for the Shiki, it’s a risk that the hunger will take over and the Jinrou will unintentionally kill the Shiki outright, especially if the Jinrou hasn’t fed in a long time. Though, as you two are blood bonded through you having sired him, it may be safe,” Sunako stated, “Jinrou will do everything in their power not to harm the Shiki that sires them.” Tohru blinked and shifted his eyes toward Natsuno at hearing this statement, rerunning the events from the previous night through his head. “Of course…” Sunako couldn’t hold back the giggle, as her own little mind movie started playing. “With the two of you practically being married, there’s no reason you can’t use mating as your excuse to feed from him.” She gave a quiet smile as Tohru and Natsuno both turned bright red. Aoi covered her face, trying to hide her own blush. Toshio and Seishin both looked aside, the former monk clearing his throat in the process.

Natsuno smirked, realizing the playful jab the former Shiki queen had just made. Tohru blushed even brighter, realizing what Natsuno was about to say, but before he could even protest, the Jinrou made his own retort, making everyone at the table a little more uncomfortable. He found the look on the girls’ faces priceless however. “My little masochist over here might actually enjoy that,” he snarked, playfully tapping the side of Tohru’s head.

“N-NATSUNO!” Tohru objected, his blush growing even brighter, “You aint gotta’ tell everyone, ya’ know…”

The others blushed, but all gave Tohru a quiet look that seemed to say, ‘As if it wasn’t already obvious?’ After all, they were well aware of how Tohru continued to chase after Natsuno, no matter how rough the younger male sometimes got. Not that Natsuno every did anything that he knew would seriously hurt Tohru, but there was no mistaking that Tohru must have enjoyed it to some degree to have kept going back for more.

“Ok, I take back what I said a few nights ago… NOW I have officially heard more about your relationship than I ever cared to,” Seishin stated, adjusting his glasses.

“Judging by Muroi-Sama’s reactions, you’re always talking with the girls anyway, so I assumed they already knew,” Natsuno teased.

Once again, Sunako found herself with her own little mind movies playing, and a huge blush on her face. Despite how young she looked, she was old enough to know a thing or two. She sat quietly blinking for a few moments.

“I~I never asked for THAT MUCH detail!” Aoi objected, her face a bright red. Once more, she found herself glad that her daughter was in another room.

“Neither had I,” Sunako pointed, finally forcing herself to say something.

Natsuno chuckled. “Well, maybe now you two will stop prying into our bedroom habits?” he teased.

“… You’re a jerk, Natsuno!” the girls unanimously complained.

Seishin and Toshio both exchanged a quiet smile that seemed to say, ‘Serves them right.’ It took all of both of their willpower to keep from laughing at the flustered looks gracing the girls’ faces. Tohru sat quietly, his face bright red with a blush for a moment. Sunako had pretty much given the open invitation for Natsuno to walk through that door, so naturally the Jinrou took it. He did feel a bit guilty for embarrassing Tohru like that, though.

Tohru blinked and his eyes shifted toward the hall way. “Tohru-Chan?” Natsuno asked as the blonde Shiki got up.

“I’ll be right back,” Tohru excused himself, with no further explanation.

“See what you’ve done?” Aoi spat accusingly, as soon as her brother had disappeared from ear shot. Natsuno blinked at her. He could tell Tohru hadn’t walked away because he was hurt or angry.

Tohru went down the hall to his room, where everyone had thought Toya was supposed to either be playing a video game or already in bed. The room was pitch black when he opened the door, but the Shiki’s night vision allowed him a well enough look at the room to realize the child wasn’t there. The bathroom door was wide open as well, so she wasn’t there either. “Toya-Chan?” he called as he came closer to Natsuno’s room. The light was on and the door slightly cracked. Tohru pushed open the door and let out a quiet sigh. “We’ve REALLY got to stop leaving this child alone for so long,” he thought as he saw her rummaging through Natsuno’s lower bookshelf. “Hey, Squirt, what are you doing in here?” he asked jovially.

Toya let out a startled squeak and spun around to face her uncle, blushing slightly at the realization she’d been caught. “I got tired of playing games, so I wanted to come in here and find one of Natsuno-Ojisan’s books to read,” she answered, with a timid sigh.

“Is that so?” Tohru asked with a smile and a giggle as he approached the six year old and knelt down in front of her. He was rather relieved that all the child friendly books were on the shelves just within the girl’s arm’s length, the more difficult to comprehend and mature material all at the top shelves. “How about this one?” He picked up Natsuno’s copy of ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

“That one will take too long, I’m ‘sposed to be in bed in another half hour or Momma will get angry,” Toya pouted.

“Well, that means ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is out of the question, too,” Tohru sighed. “Ah, here we go… The Grimm’s Brothers. You can probably get two or three fairy tales out of this one before bed time,” he chuckled. “How about it, Toya-Chan, would you like Uncle Tohru to read some to you?”

Toya smiled and nodded. “Ok!”

“Alright, come on,” he chuckled, taking the girl’s hand in his and leading her to the bed. He flopped down on the bed and she crawled up onto the down mattress, scooted across, and settled in beside him, leaving her lucky rabbit lying on the floor, as she knew Tohru’s aversion to it. Tohru smiled and held the book so she could see the words and pictures and turned to the table of contents. “Alright, Toya-Chan,” he hummed softly, “Pick out three stories, and I’ll read them to you.” Tohru was surprised at her chosen stories; rather than the ‘Fairy Tale Princess’ stories that had all been animated time and time again, she chose “Hansel and Grethel,” “Little Red Riding-Hood,” and “Florinda and Yoringal”. “Really? You’d rather those over Cinderella, Snow-White, and The Frog Prince?” he asked. She smiled and nodded. “Alright,” he agreed.

‘Hansel and Grethel’ and ‘Little Red Riding-Hood’ were well known stories. He thought he could understand the appeal in why Toya had chose those two. He himself had never read ‘Florinda and Yoringal’, though, as he did, he found himself wondering why Romeo and Juliet were considered such a romantic couple by comparison. “An old sorceress lived in a castle in the middle of a forest, she lived alone and could take the form of a cat during the day or an owl at night,” as Tohru red, Toya remembered the way Aoi had once described Sotoba and the Kanemasa mansion. She found herself picturing Sunako as the sorceress.

She had been picturing all of them that way since Tohru had started with Hansel and Grethel, not that she disliked Sunako, but as Sunako was a Vampire, the unfortunate role of the witch had fallen to her, while Tohru and Aoi were the infamous brother and sister. In ‘Little Red Riding-Hood’, she pictured herself as the girl, Natsuno as the woodsman, and found herself placing the man with the ears she had seen a few nights before as the wolf, so far, Sunako’s two Jinrou were the only ones who hadn’t been assigned a role, until Tohru read the next part. “If anyone came within a hundred steps of her castle, there he would remain standing in the same place, unable to move until she spoke to set him free. Should the intruder be a young maiden, the sorceress would change her into a beautiful rare bird and trap her in a cage, carrying the poor girl to a room within the castle where seven thousand of these rare birds were kept.” Toya stifled a giggle as she pictured Toshio becoming a statue and a gender-bent Seishin being turned into a bird. When her uncle looked over at her, wondering what he’d said to make her laugh, she blushed, apologized, and asked him to continue.

He blinked as he began to get an idea what she must have been thinking, smiled, nodded, and returned to the story. “Not far from these woods, lived a young maiden named Florinda who was more beautiful than all the maidens in the village. She was betrothed to a very handsome young man named Yoringal. Whenever the two wanted to talk, they found they enjoyed walking through the woods, but they took great care to stay away from the castle.” Tohru blinked, having realized the way Toya’s mind had been working throughout these stories, he was almost afraid to ask the child whom she’d assigned these roles to.

“What does betrothed mean?” Toya asked, looking up at him, her soft brown eyes meeting his own.

“It means they were arranged to be married,” Tohru answered.

“Oh,” she nodded.

Tohru patted her on the head and continued reading, “One beautiful evening, however, they went to take their usual walk. The sun shone between the trunks of the trees and brightened the way. Turtle doves were cooing in their nests. Florinda thought the song of the birds was so sweet yet mournful that she began to weep. In fact, Yoringal, too felt something dreadful was going to happen. They felt as though they may both die. The pair began to feel so glum that they barely noticed the sun setting behind the trees as they continued their walk. In the midst of their mood, they forgot to steer clear of the castle.”

“Why didn’t they just turn around and go home?” Toya asked.

Tohru blinked, leave it to a six year old to point out the plot holes. “Maybe the witch had put a spell on the woods that day, and it drew them further in?” he offered.

“You’re just making stuff up!” Toya objected.

“Well, do you have another reason for them not to have went home? … OTHER than the obvious, ‘because then there’d be no story’ argument?” he asked.

She blinked at him. “Ok, so the witch put a spell on the woods,” Toya conceded.

Tohru gave a soft chuckle and continued. “When the pair finally realized where they were, it was already too late. Filled with fear, they started to turn, but in the blink of an eye, Yoringal watched in horror as his beloved Florinda turned into a nightingale. Florinda began to sing, ‘Jug, jug, jug’ with the sweetest music. Just then, a night owl with glowing eyes flew over head, circling them three times and screeching as loud as it could.”

“The witch?” Toya squeaked.  
“Now you’re getting ahead of me,” Tohru pouted at her.  
“Sorry…”

“After the third screech, Yoringal found he was unable to move. Like all those men before him, he’d been turned to stone, unable to speak, or cry, or move an inch. The sun went down and the owl flew into a bush. A moment later, the sorceress came out of the same bush, muttering something to herself. She snatched up the frightened little nightingale and carried it off to the castle. She then returned to Yoringal, looking into the sky at the full moon, she called, ‘I greet thee, Zachiel, when the moon in a basket shines, bind; loose Zachiel, till the good hour comes.’ Yoringal was suddenly free. Sinking to his knees, he pleaded with the woman to return his beloved Florida. His cries fell on deaf ears as the sorceress told him he should never have her back and returned to her castle, leaving him very much alone. Yoringal was uncertain what to do, but he could not bring himself to return home without his love. He removed himself from the castle, keeping a safe distance, so as not to be turned to stone again, but he stayed for a long time, hoping his Florinda would return. However, there was never any sign of her again.”

Tohru saw the frown on Toya’s face. She quietly glanced up at Tohru, then back toward the door, as if expecting Natsuno to walk in on them, but was acting as if she hoped he hadn’t noticed. Now, there was no question in his mind who Toya had placed in what role in her head. Just how much of what happened in Sotoba had her mother told her anyway? “If that’s the case, this sorceress needs to be Shimizu, not Sunako,” he thought, aware of how he’d left out the details about the witch being an ugly old hag.

“One night, Yoringal had a dream about a blood-red flower with a large beautiful pearl in the middle. Upon plucking this flower, he could reach the castle safe from the witch’s sorcery and finally be united with his dearest Florinda. He awoke hastily. He began to search for the flower, traveling a long distance, over hill and valley, hoping the dream had been a vision of promise. Finally, as he all but gave up hope, he found one such flower; blood-red with a large dew drop, as big and beautiful as a pearl. He carefully took up the flower and returned to the castle as quickly as he could. Just as in the dream, he was able to walk straight to the castle gate and entered with ease. Once inside, he stood still and listened, hoping he could hear find the room the birds were in by their singing. When he found the room, the birds became spiteful toward him. They scolded and hissed, spitting poison and venom at him, but their cages kept them so that they could not reach to hurt him. There were so many birds, at first, he was uncertain how he would know which one was his Florinda, until he noticed the sorceress sneaking out of the room with a caged bird in tow.”

“Sneaking out with her? That’s playing dirty!” Toya interrupted.

“When do the bad guys ever play fair?” Tohru asked.

“Good point,” Toya sighed.

“Yoringal gave chase after the wicked woman. As soon as he caught up with her, he sprang upon her, once again, insisting upon the return of his dearest Florinda. A splash of the water from the dew drop on the flower landed on the witch as the flower fell from Yoringal’s pocket. This froze the sorceress in place. Yoringal quickly seized up the flower and holding it in his hand touched the witch and the cage. The spell was broken. The witch could do no further harm to either of the lovers. The nightingale began to glow and soon the cage shattered as the bird returned to her original form. There, before him stood Florinda, just as young and beautiful as ever. Taking her in his arms, Yoringal lead his beloved out of the castle. Before they left, he used his flower to free the other birds from the spell, returning the maidens to their proper forms. Yoringal lead Florinda back home and they were married, living in great happiness for the rest of their lives.”

“If she was smart, she never would have freed Yoringal in the first place,” Toya stated, “The hero can’t stop you when he’s a statue,” she giggled.

Tohru smiled at his niece, he couldn’t argue with that logic. Natsuno would have never been able to fight all the Shiki in Sotoba if he had remained human, either. He looked at the clock and cleared his throat. “I think we’ve got time for one more,” he giggled, flipping back to the table of contents.

Toya leaned in and looked at the list of stories. She ‘huh’ed and ‘hmm’ed as she looked over the titles, before finally pointing at ‘The Brave Little Taylor’. “This one, she giggled.”

Tohru blinked quietly at her, giving a looked that seemed to say, ‘Ok, now I know you’re just messing with me!’ He sighed. This little one was so hard to refuse. “Alright, but after this one, you and Lucky are off to bed, ok?” he reminded her with a chuckle. She smiled and nodded, snuggling close to him.

Meanwhile, the others took notice of the time as well. “Tohru-Niisan’s been gone a long time,” Aoi pointed, “Natsuno, maybe you should have apologized?”

Natsuno gave a soft chuckle. “Calm down, Aoi, he’s far from upset,” he assured her.

“He’s back there reading the girl bedtime stories,” Toshio said, popping a cigarette into his mouth. The others looked up at him, even being a less experienced Jinrou than the other two, he was able to hear the child and the Shiki carrying on at the far end of the building.

“I can only imagine which one of them is loving that more,” Aoi giggled.

Suddenly, there was the sound of shattering glass followed by a loud thud and Toya letting out a scream. The others froze.

“Tohru-Ojisan!” Toya shrieked worriedly. SMACK! “KYAH!”

Natsuno and Aoi both felt their hearts miss a beat as everyone leapt to their feet. 

“SHUT UP, BRAT!” a voice exclaimed. “There’s been a change of plans.”

“That voice…” Aoi’s eyes widened, “That’s the man from last night!” Seishin and Toshio darted for the front door, as Natsuno barreled down the hallway. Sunako drug Aoi out the back with her. It was too late, even trying to head them off at every angle, the intruder was gone, Tohru and Toya along with him.


	10. Meanie Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gunman delievers Tohru and Toya to his boss's accompice. Needless to say, Tohru isn't surprised by who it is. Unlike her uncle however, Toya-Chan isn't scared of him one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (THIS NOTE IS SHOWN AS IT WAS POSTED ON FANFICTION.NET!)  
> First off, dear ‘Guest’, thank you for your comment on the last chapter. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the story and that I’m able to entertain you with the way I’m describing Natsuno and Tohru’s relationship. I will definitely keep this series running as long as I can. I enjoy writing all the cute fluffiness between the two of them, and with them and their niece. I just hate that this particular story is forcing me to take it down a bit of a darker path, but such is the case. I love, Love, LOVE Tohru, which is unfortunately (for him) why I tease and hurt him so much. … But I think he kind of likes it. But, I try to make up for it with making him the comedy relief and giving him awesome moments like when he confronted the gunman. (I know I didn’t write it, but was I the only one who pictured him with Bishi sparkles through that whole scenario, at least up until Kobun drew the stake?) For those of you who were wondering, yes, Toya was picturing Natsuno as Yoringal and Tohru as Florinda. Had I gone the Wizard of Oz route, Tohru would have been the cowardly lion and Natsuno the Scarecrow, with Ozaki probably landing the role of the Tin Man and Aoi as Glenda, and Lucky the stuffed rabbit as Toto. Again, Sunako would have been the Witch of the West, with Seishin as her flying monkey. Anyway, sorry, I’m digressing here, back to the story. Short Chapter, but actual plot. I’m glad people are still enjoying it. Oh, and, again, mention of nssix6’s story, you actually get a character’s name from it this time.

Chapter 10: Meanie Head

 

Toya sat huddled in a dark corner, quietly whimpering to herself. Tohru still hadn’t woken up from the blow he’d taken to the head. There had been some debate as to whether or not to remove his fangs, though none of them were willing to put their hands inside the mouth of a Vampire, that was like sticking your head in the mouth of a lion or an alligator, just something you simply don’t do.

“Tohru-Ojisan? Tohru-Ojisan, wake up!” Toya cried out. “Aha!?” She gave a tiny frightened gasp when the man with ears that she had seen outside the window a few nights ago picked her up by the collar of her dress, holding her above his head with a single hand.

“So…? This is Chibi Kobayashi Toya-Chan?” he smiled. “You really are a mini-me version of your Uncle Tohru, aren’t you?”

“Who are you?” she growled back.

The man chuckled. “Oh, the little one’s got some spunk, huh? I like that.” He smiled, closing his eyes and placing his right hand on his chest. “I’m simply an old friend of your Uncle Tohru’s.”

“Nu-uh!” she countered, “If you were a friend, you wouldn’t be hurting us. Now put me down before you wrinkle my dress!”

The man chuckled. “You’re not afraid of me, Chibi-Chan?”

“Put her down, Tatsumi!” Tohru snarled, having finally opened his eyes.

The green-haired Jinrou’s eyes shifted toward the bound Shiki, who clearly hadn’t noticed his own situation as of yet. “And you don’t seem surprised that I’m still alive?” He chortled. “Before you go making demands, I suggest you assess your surroundings. Tell me, Tohru-Chan, are your arms itching, right now? Of course, my new friends couldn't use silver, due to their own allergy issues, but well..." He gave an evil chuckle. "It works with you all the same."

“Huh?” Tohru blinked and looked around. Something was casting a shadow over him. A cold chill over took him as he looked upward to find he’d been tied with his hands behind his back, to a cross, and his legs tied at the ankles. “Gyah…!?” Tohru began to squirm, trying to pull free of the bonds holding him to the cross, but he hadn’t been bound with ropes, but with chains and hand cuffs.

Tatsumi leaned in toward Tohru and caught him under the chin. “You had ONE JOB, Tohru, to rid us of the menace that was Yuuki/Koide Natsuno, and yet you screwed that up!”

“Whether I liked it or not, I did exactly as you told me,” Tohru answered, “But it backfired on you. I knew he was back in Sotoba before everything fell apart, but I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone. I owed him that much.”

“And in so doing, you failed to do what I told you to,” Tatsumi argued.

“It’s been eleven years, Tatsumi,” Tohru spat, purposely leaving off the ‘Kun’ honorific, “Don’t tell me you still hold a grudge? Even Sunako and Natsuno have made peace.”

“So, Sunako is still alive?” Tatsumi smiled, pleased to hear his former mistress had survived, “I knew I could trust Muroi-Sama to protect her.”

“At the cost of becoming a Jinrou,” Tohru grumbled.

“Excellent,” Tatsumi laughed, “There needs to be more of my kind around. Especially since Yoshie was killed. “To be honest, I’m still curious why you’re not surprised I’m still alive. I certainly was surprised to find you and Natsuno were harboring the Kobayashi girls.”

“If Natsuno could come back, then we realized it was only a matter of time before you showed up, too, but after eleven years of nothing, we thought either you didn’t survive, or simply moved on,” Tohru answered, sounding annoyed and looking away from the green haired Jinrou. He turned his attention back, Tatsumi had tucked Toya under his arm pit like he were carrying a basket ball. “Now, would you please stop tossing my niece around like some kind of rag doll chew toy and set her back on the ground?”

“All the more reason we need more Jinrou around, because I’m going to rip Natsuno’s head off his shoulders with my own two hands,” Tatsumi threatened, tossing the girl back in the Shiki’s lap.

“Oof…!” Toya scrambled to sit up right and glared at the green haired Jinrou. “That’s what you think!” she challenged, “Natsuno-Ojisan’s gonna’ kick yer butt when he finds us!”

Tohru blinked. His first thought was where on earth the girl had picked up such language, his second thought was how glad he was that she had such faith and hero worship for Natsuno, but ultimately, what came out of his mouth was, “Toya-Chan, don’t antagonize him like that! He’s a Jinrou, just like Natsuno.”

Tatsumi laughed, “Still a coward, after all this time, huh, Tohru? Here I was starting to think I understood why you were the girl’s namesake, but she’s definitely much braver than you ever where. Really? Do you really think I’m enough of a monster to harm a little girl?”

Tohru deadpanned at him, the whole room falling silent to the point everyone present could hear the cicadas outside. “Matsuo Shizuka, Murasako Hiromi, Yasumori Susumu, Maeda Shigeki and Shihori… The list of innocent children that perished in Sotoba in vain attempts to turn them, or after having been turned goes on, Tatsumi,” he reminded the Jinrou, “and I’m sure you don’t even feel remorse for the loss of a single one. Of course that’s the kind of monster I see you as.”

Tatsumi smirked. “You’re right, I’m glad Sunako’s alright, and happy that Muroi-Sama’s with her, so that she’s not alone, but I could care less about the others who were lost back in Sotoba. It took me a long time to climb out of that damnable pit…”

“HEY!” Tohru snapped. “You can at least be civil enough to watch the language with a kid in the room, can’t you?”

“…” Tatsumi raised an annoyed eyebrow, uncertain which he was more annoyed over, being interrupted, or being interrupted simply because he swore. Were these two even taking him seriously at this point? “I honestly don’t understand how Natsuno got out considering the dynamite was strapped to his body. When I climbed out, my first thought was to make good on my promise to you, and go after your younger siblings. But, it took a while to track them down, since all the survivors were forced to flee during that fire.”

“…” Tohru glared at the Jinrou, who was now holding his gaze with a hand under his chin. “Toya-Chan’s right, ya’ know?” he smirked, “Natsuno’s going to kick your butt real good when he gets here.”

Tatsumi growled and caught Tohru by the arm. Knowing the Shiki would heal, eventually, he dislocated Tohru’s left shoulder, with a single yank, smiling as he shrieked in pain. “Tohru-Ojisan!?” Toya whimpered worriedly.

“Heh, not when I have the two of you as leverage. That proud little brat you idolize will probably lay down at my feet and let himself be beheaded if I promise to set the both of you free,” the Jinrou stated, “In the meantime, maybe that’ll remind you how strong I am.” He gave Tohru a pat on the cheek, before snatching Toya up and tying her hands together behind her back as well. “There, should you decide you need a snack to help heal yourself, what with that cross weakening you, I’ll just leave the girl here. With that kind of pain, I’m sure it won’t take long for the hunger to set in.”

With that, Tatsumi turned and left. Tohru closed his eyes and groaned in pain. There was a difference in the kind of pain he was willing to put up with from Natsuno and this. “Tohru-Ojisan?” Toya scooted as close to him as possible, her big brown eyes looking up at him worriedly.

He closed his eyes and forced a sigh. “It’s alright, Toya-Chan,” he assured her. “It hurts, but I’ll heal easy.”

“Why does that big meanie head wanna’ hurt Natsuno-Ojisan? … Why’s he mad at you?” Toya asked.

Tohru sighed, realizing he needed to stay calm for her sake. “He was one of the bad guys from Sotoba. Uncle Natsuno beat him and a bunch of his friends up really bad. Until now, we thought Sunako and Muroi-Sama were the only ones left. But, now we’re finding a lot of them are coming back. He’s mad at me because he wanted me to hurt Natsuno before Natsuno could fight the others,” Tohru explained.

Toya blinked. “That’s silly!” she exclaimed, “You love Natsuno-Ojisan, you’d never hurt him!”

Tohru chuckled. “Truth from the mouths of babes,” he thought. “Toya-Chan, you’re really not afraid of him, are you?” he asked.

“Nu-uh!” she shook her head. “Natsuno-Ojisan’s strong enough to beat up any ol’ monster. He’ll come for us.”

“As soon as he’s able to find us,” Tohru nodded. He gave a bitter hiss of pain as the nod reminded him of his dislocated shoulder. “Toya, sweetie, I want you to do me a favor, stay brave, knowing Natsuno’s coming, but don’t do anything to make Tatsumi madder than he already is, alright? I can’t do anything to him while my hands are tied like this, and I don’t have a way to feed right now, either. If I get hungry enough, I might get scary, if that happens, I want you to stay as far away from me as you can, ok?”

Toya gave a concerned nod. “O-Okay…” she agreed.

Tohru smiled. “Good girl,” he chuckled. In all honesty, Tohru had lost all desire for human blood after three years of feeding from Natsuno alone. Perhaps it was just another one of those little perks from the symbiotic relationship between the Shiki and the Jinrou, that Sunako was neglecting to take advantage of with her own. But Tohru hadn’t frenzied in years, and the scent of Natsuno’s blood was the only thing that even remotely drove him toward doing so anymore. Sure, Dr. Dalton Dale COULD have had some of his experimental Vampire repellant stolen from his lab, that was utilized by the gunman from the night before, causing Tohru to wish he were capable of throwing up, but at the same time, it was quite possible that due to his reliance on Natsuno’s blood, all humans might taste like that to him, now as well.

Either way, it had been a long time since Tohru had been driven to starvation, and especially while injured. There had been reasons Tohru had warned Ritsuko of the horrible things they would do to her if she refused to feed while locked away with Nurse Hashiguchi Yasuyo. Having been given such treatments himself, it wasn’t something he’d wanted her to experience.

The first few days as a Shiki, he’d refused to feed, even turning away the glass of blood that was initially offered. Tatsumi had eventually became tired of Tohru’s refusal and broke both his arms before brutally beating him. He had then left Tohru locked in a room with a live victim until the hunger took him. Tohru’s body had needed the blood to heal, which only served to make the hunger worse, causing him to loose control and attack the innocent soul. It had been Tohru’s first kill. He had felt that urge coming over him again, that second night he was with Natsuno. The teen’s blood had been the best he’d ever had, and he skipped feeding the night he didn’t go back, because Natsuno’s was the only blood he’d found himself craving. So, when Natsuno had offered his blood freely, Tohru did all he could to try and fight the hunger, refusing the offer for fear of what would happen. In the end, the hunger had won out. He would have preferred Toya to never have to see him in such a predicament, but if it came down to that, he was glad he was tied down, and wanted her as far out of his reach as possible.

"Heh, 'Meanie Head' describes him pretty well," the Shiki thought.


	11. Leads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuno goes to see a certain Doctor; Dr. Dalton Dale a.k.a. 3D in search of leads, thinking perhaps the doctor and his patients are victims of the same meanace. Apparently, Miko Misaki had the same idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (THIS NOTE IS SHOWN AS IT WAS POSTED ON FANFICTION.NET!)  
> Ok, you guys already know I don’t own Shiki; regardless of how many fan-fics I’ve written for it! I also don’t own Dr. Dalton Dale (aka 3D) he is a character created by nnsix6, who’s inevitable cameo I’ve been leading up to. I am using him here with permission, but keeping things as vague as I can get away with on what nnsix6 is planning, I don’t want to give any spoilers, just suffice it to know that 3D is interested in Shiki on a scientific level and is working on creating a repellant. No, there will be no BL funny business with Dr. Dale, he doesn’t swing that way! I promised nnsix6 that much. Sorry, I can’t tell you who the female in the back is though.

Chapter 11: Leads

 

Natsuno’s mind was in full panic mode. He couldn’t sense Tohru’s presence anywhere. Despite how shaken he really was, he was still a master at hiding his emotions, to everyone else, he appeared calm, cool, and collected. Aoi sat on the floor, hugging Toya’s stuffed bunny. It had been left on there when the pair had been abducted. Her tears were rolling off her cheeks onto the top of the rabbit’s head. “Natsuno… They took my baby. What are they going to do to her?” she sniffled.

Natsuno put a strong, comforting hand on his sister-in-law’s shoulder. “Wherever they took her, Aoi, Tohru’s with her. He won’t let them hurt her. I’m going to take you to stay with your parents, it’s time to let the rest of the family know what’s really going on.”

“No! Natsuno, that’s my daughter and brother out there, I…” Aoi started to object.

“Exactly why I want you to go stay with your parents,” Natsuno interrupted her, “I promise, I’ll do everything I can to find them, this is no longer about large amounts of cash that have suddenly gone missing, this has been made personal, and you could get hurt if you’re out there. I realize your parents will be apprehensive about the idea, but I’ll ask them to let Sunako keep an eye on their house during the night, Muroi-Sama and Ozaki-Sensei can help me look.”

“Don’t go deciding that on your own!” Toshio protested.

“Just remember who bit you first,” Natsuno and Seishin retorted simultaneously.

“Tsk… Damn it, such an annoyance having been sired by three different Okiagari,” the doctor complained.

“At least you only have two of us to answer to, particularly the two who aren’t trying to break your will,” Seishin pointed. “Unfortunately, while I was the one who finally bit and turned you, Natsuno ultimately still has some say in what you do, having been the first.” Seishin turned his attention back to Natsuno and Aoi. “I will willingly lend my assistance in finding them, if Mutou-San and Mutou-Sama will allow Sunako a place to stay safe during the day, while I’m unable to attend to her. And as both of us are requesting it, Toshio has little choice in the matter, I’m afraid.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to,” Toshio growled, “Just don’t go deciding things about me without asking first!”

Seishin stifled a laugh. “You two are more alike than you ever realized,” he thought, looking from the less experienced Jinrou, to the more experienced one. Toshio and Seishin may have been older, but still, Natsuno had been a Jinrou longer. Even so, Tatsumi had been one for much longer, should they find their suspicions were true, it might take all three of them to force him to submit. While Seishin was the only Jinrou who didn’t hold a grudge with Tatsumi, and Tatsumi had been equally as much a part in Seishin’s transformation as a Jinrou, it did not change the fact that Sunako was old enough in comparison that her orders would easily override Tatsumi’s; the fact that she had been the first to bite him helped in that matter as well. Right now, her orders were for him to do whatever was necessary to help Natsuno see Tohru and Toya home safely.

After some coaxing, Natsuno finally got Aoi to agree to let him take her to her parent’s house. It was a long drive from the restaurant, but Natsuno knew they could make it there before daybreak. Mr. and Mrs. Mutou were, just as he expected, reluctant to invite Sunako in, remembering well enough who she was. She stood on the front porch of their new home, clasped her hands together in front of her waist and bowed at them, offering apologies for any and all wrongs that had come upon them due to her actions in Sotoba. She even ventured further to mention that she had grown quite fond of Toya over the past year and merely wanted to see the girl was returned safely, and that while she was sending her own Jinrou to assist Natsuno in searching for Tohru and Toya, that she herself can’t offer any further assistance in the search, as she cannot venture outside during the day. The way she carried herself, the soft tone of her voice, the Mutou couple found themselves able to accept her apology and allow her inside, Mutou-San warning, however, that he would resend the invitation if she tried anything funny.

Before leaving, Natsuno gave Mutou-Sama and Aoi both a reassuring hug, promising he’d return with Tohru and Toya both safely in tow. “Natsuno, do you even know where to look?” Aoi asked.

“Not yet. I couldn’t sense Tohru anywhere near the restaurant at all… But, I’ve got an idea on a lead,” he said. “I’ll let you know something as soon as I can,” he promised as he left. “Sunako, I’m counting on you to keep them safe until then.”

As Natsuno headed back toward the city, he popped open his cell phone and opened a three-way call between himself, Toshio, and Seishin. “Aoi and Sunako are with her parents now. It wasn’t easy, but they finally agreed to let Sunako stay. I’m headed back, but before I meet with you, I’ve got a stop to make. There’s someone…I need to talk to.”

Natsuno reached his destination and quickly climbed out of the vehicle. As he approached the door, he stopped and took notice of a motor bike. Normally, he wouldn’t think anything of it, but he was certain this was one he’d seen years before. Suddenly a chill ran through the eternally teenaged Jinrou as a familiar, eerily strong, aura filled the air. “So, she’s here too?” he scoffed. He opened the door to the building. “HEY, DOC? YOU HERE?” he called out. He’d seen way too many horror movies to simply mutter the word ‘Hello’, somehow, after becoming a Shiki, Tohru had taken a strong interest in such movies, but he often refused to watch them alone; ironically, the blonde was still more afraid of the ‘monsters’ than the humans. Natsuno blinked as he looked into the entrance, the lights were off and the place was relatively quiet. “Oh come on? Is he out?” the Jinrou growled.

“I’ll be right there! Come on in,” a male voice called from down the hallway.

“Oh, you are here!” Natsuno answered, walking inside and letting the door shut behind him. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. He didn’t mind the dark, he could see just fine. What he did mind was being kept waiting. He impatiently drummed his fingers on the side of his arm. Then, a shiver ran through him, there was that aura again, and it was getting closer. He jerked his head up and turned to look down the hall, he could hear a woman’s voice talking with the doctor.

Doctor Dalton Dale came into the room first. “Hello, sorry to keep you, especially in the dark,” he greeted, without even bothering to look at the visitor. “The bulb blew out in here just a few minutes ago.”

“Yo, Doc, it’s dangerous to just let anyone in here without seeing who it is first, you know?” Natsuno jokingly scolded him.

“I recognized your voice, Natsuno. I don’t know many people who would enter this place as boisterously as you did,” the doctor answered, changing out the light bulb.

“I’m in no joking mood right now, Doctor,” Natsuno growled, flinching as the light bulb came back on.

“Natsuno, don’t call me Doctor,” the doctor sighed, “I told you, everyone calls me 3D.”

Natsuno rolled his eyes. He understood the annoyance behind being called by a certain name after asking everyone to call you something else, but he wasn’t here for pleasantries. Then, there was HER. Miko Misaki had stayed in the door way until the light was on, now the two males found the elderly woman sauntering into the room. “So, the rumors are true. You’re still alive and back in town. An old crone like yourself, I’m impressed,” Natsuno poked. “I believe we agreed you’d be the first human I ever killed with my own hands if we crossed paths again?”

Miko Misaki stood, hand on her hips, her shoulder-length blue-grey hair pulled into a bun on the top of her head, clad in leather, damn, she looked good for an old granny, were they sure she was really as old as she would have every one else believe? Her sharp hazel eyes glanced around quietly for a moment. “I see you’re alone tonight, child?” she greeted him, ignoring the threat. “Where is your companion?”

3D froze and looked around. “Yeah, I understand Tohru’s usually glued to your side isn’t he?”

Natsuno snorted and looked away from both of them. Miko Misaki smiled. “Ah, so that’s what’s troubling you?” she said wisely.

“He and his sister’s daughter were abducted from the restaurant just a few hours ago,” Natsuno begrudgingly admitted, keeping his eyes turned away from the doctor and the Hunter. Though, they could still hear the stinging tears he was holding back in his voice.

“Tohru’s gone?” a familiar female voice was heard gasping in the hallway. Realizing she’d been heard, she scurried back down the hall from the others, when they looked toward her.

Natsuno sighed, “Of course, she’d be worried, too,” he quietly thought.

“I’ll talk with her, when you leave,” 3D promised. Natsuno nodded.

Natsuno flinched when Misaki put a gentle hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. “Relax, child, I have no grudges against you or your companion. Since our last encounter, I’ve taken your words to heart and have been avoiding the members of your clan. Right now, I’m in town after a werewolf. Seems he’s part of a major trifecta and has been embezzling, thinking he’s untouchable. It’s been getting the accountants into a lot of trouble as of late, however.”

Natsuno’s eyes widened and flickered for a moment of realization. Could it be possible the Miko was looking for the same people who’d come after Aoi in the first place. He looked up at her. “What’s his name?”

“Okuriinu Roukan,” Misaki answered. “Honestly, with a name like that, I’m surprised these nobody had gotten suspicious sooner.”

“Just a moment…” Natsuno said, whipping out his cell phone and quickly pulling up Aoi’s phone number. His suspicions were confirmed, that was the name of her client with the missing money, but she had no information on where to locate him. Natsuno gave a sigh as he hung up with his sister-in-law, he could almost feel the phone about to break into pieces in his hand as he held it. “That bastard…” he growled.

“Oh my, seems we have a mutual target,” Misaki stated.

“Tell me, everything you know about this guy?” Natsuno insisted.

“What’s to tell?” Misaki groaned, rubbing the back of her head. “He’s a werewolf, who enjoys steeling from the humans who were dumb enough to let him partner with him.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Natsuno sighed, “Does he work with humans or Okiagari of any sort?”

“Now, that’s an odd question,” Misaki blinked. “No offense Natsuno, but you know Wolves and Fangs don’t mix. It’s that infamous sibling rivalry having descended from Cain, if you believe those myths. Though, not all Okiagari are Vampires, now are they?” she smirked, looking Natsuno over. “You’re not half human, half vampire, but you are a day walker. If anything, a Jinrou such as yourself is a half-wolf-vamp.”

Natsuno blinked, so that’s why Tatsumi had associated their kind as werewolves? “Meaning we could ally with any of the three without getting noticed?” he asked.

“Well, they’ll notice the scent of a Vampire on you; you especially, thanks to your relationship with your Shiki,” she smiled at the blush creeping across Natsuno’s face, she had figured them out the first time she’d laid eyes on them ten years ago when they took the lost child to the temple. When she had accused Tohru of ‘playing with his food’, she’d hit the nail on the head and meant it in every sense of the word. “But they’ll recognize the smell of wolf on you, too. They might be confused by the scent the first time they meet someone like you, but they’ll realize you’re a Halfling when you don’t change under a full moon.”

“Well, that explains that reaction when one of them bit me last week,” Natsuno grunted, remembering the comment, ‘He’s not exactly a Fang, but he smells like one.’

“Say, Natsuno, was there a reason you came looking for me?” 3D asked, suddenly, feeling a little forgotten about, but still having been jotting down notes like crazy while the Miko spoke.

“Oh, right,” Natsuno stated, looking back to the doctor.

3D frowned, “You’d completely forgotten about me, didn’t you?” He tried to think of this as a commentary on Natsuno’s train of thought and attention span where the safety of the blonde Shiki was concerned, more than a commentary on how noticeable or memorable he was.

Natsuno tried not to nod. “Those repellants you’re working on, you haven’t by any chance had any that’s been stolen recently, have you? Just how many people know what you’re doing over here, anyway? … Outside of the obvious four that I know of,” his eyes shifted toward the Miko lumping her in as one of the four.

“Not many, yet,” 3D admitted, “But I’m curious how you knew some of my samples had come up missing?”

Natsuno sighed, he didn’t want to have to say this in front of… HER… but… He brushed a strand of hair out of his face. “We managed to keep it out of the news last night, but someone came to the Moon Bound Café last night. He was human, but acting like a ghoul or thrall, yet with no obvious signs of having been bit or hypnotized, so I’m told. He tried to take Aoi and Toya then, but Tohru intercepted him. When the guy realized Tohru wasn’t afraid of the gun he was carrying, the guy pulled out a stake with a cross. Tohru bit the guy… IN SELF DEFENSE!” he growled, pointing at Misaki before the Miko had a chance to speak. He’d seen her getting ready to open her mouth and say something. “He couldn’t swallow the blood, he spat it out. He said it tasted awful, and it made him ill. I thought I’d ask if anything had come up missing around here. Maybe if we put our heads together, we could get some leads. Who the hell ever this is, he’s been watching us, but we can’t sense or smell him. You haven’t been working on something that would help with that, too, have you?”

“Natsuno,” 3D sighed. “I’ll do what I can to help you. But, I assure you, I have no idea how anyone could possibly hide themselves from YOU.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘No’, on anything allowing them to mask themselves, then,” Natsuno sighed. “Damn it all… I can’t sense Tohru either,” he slumped back on the counter, rubbing the back of his head, trying his best not to pull his hair out. “I was hoping you’d tell me it was something you had concocted, and that there may be a way to counter it.” He linked his fingers together and drew his hands to his mouth, worriedly cradling his lips against his knuckles in thought. “Maybe Sunako’s right… I may have to ‘feed’ for this after all.”


	12. Dead Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuno returns to Tohru's parents house with a BIG favor to ask, but he's conflicted about asking it. Toshio calls from the police station with some disturbing news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oi… Uninventive names are uninventive. If anyone’s caught on to the meanings of Kobun, Okuriinu Roukan, Miko Misaki, or even Maigo Tomiko (back in the first story), you’ll start to realize a pattern and see what I just did here with the police officer, too. And, I’m sorry about how Tamotsu’s acting, it’s not that he’s being a jerk because he doesn’t like Natsuno, he’s just upset with the situation, and Natsuno’s a convenient target at the moment.

Chapter 12: Dead Ends

 

Natsuno returned to the Mutou house hold, 3D and Miko Misaki in tow, for some reason, the doctor and the Hunter had insisted on coming along, perhaps they simply wanted to meet the family who’s existence was allowing the two Okiagari so much strength to fight for their humanity? The doctor had studied Shiki, but he’d never taken a look into the families that ‘survived’ them. Or perhaps 3D simply wanted to meet the former Shiki Queen of Sotoba herself, knowing she was there with them? He felt a strong conflict in the back of his mind. He already knew that Tamotsu and Kaori were already on their way there when he left Aoi. He was certain Akira was headed there as well. He hated to ask them to do this for him again, but this was Tohru and Toya’s lives on the line.

Conflict raged inside his head on the way back. After he and Tohru had made the agreement that the Shiki would never feed from another human to satiate his hunger, as a precaution to ensure he never killed again, would drinking from them now make him a hypocrite? Or would having forgiven Tohru’s bite in self defense last night alleviate the Jinrou from such proclamations as this was a means to assist him in rescuing his two missing loved ones? Would Tohru think any less of him if he subcame to the idea and fed from the family in order to hunt for them even if it was the final option?

Sunako sensed the Miko’s presence the moment the vehicle pulled into the driveway. Her hair stood on end like a cat, and she quietly backed into a corner, staring wide-eyed at the door. She’d never, in all her years, felt an aura so strong. Natsuno took notice that Akira’s truck and Tamotsu’s minivan were indeed already in the drive way.

Natsuno stepped to the left when the door swung open, and if not for Misaki’s quick reflexes, 3D would have taken Tamotsu’s fist right in the face. Tamotsu blinked in surprise when he realized his fist had been stalled by a single finger from an elderly, yet beautiful, old woman. He spun around to face Natsuno. “Care to tell me why it is trouble seems to follow our family when you’re around?” he accused.

“Tamotsu!” Aoi, Kaori, and Akira all scolded him.

“You know good and well none of this is Natsuno’s fault!” Aoi exclaimed.

“You want to blame someone for Tohru being a Shiki? Point fingers at Megumi! You want to blame someone for what’s going on now? Wait until we know who’s behind it! But remember if it wasn’t for Natsuno, everyone of us would either be an Okiagari or dead right now!” Kaori continued, tears threatening her eyes.

Natsuno sighed. “I understand you’re upset, Tamotsu, you all have every right to be. True, Megumi was the one who turned Tohru-Chan, but it was in bitter jealousy over his friendship with me that brought her to do it. Now, I’ve failed, not only to protect him again, but Toya-Chan as well. But I intend to bring them both back! Before I can do that, I’m afraid I have a favor to ask…”

“Daddy, don’t be so mean to Natsuno-Ojisan!” a voice came from behind them.

“Natsumi? Akari, too?” Tamotsu sighed turning to see his two children standing behind them.

“You kids are supposed to be in bed,” Kaori scolded.

“We were until we heard Natsuno-Ojisan drive up,” Akari answered.

Just as Toya took after Tohru, Natsumi was just like Natsuno, smart and stubborn. While Toya had took to seeing Natsuno as the missing father figure in her life, Natsumi had taken to seeing him as something of a mentor. Kaori had taken the girls to visit several times, only to often find Natsuno helping them with their homework. It really displeased them to come downstairs and find their father yelling at him.

Natsuno smiled, made his way inside, and hugged both their necks. “You two really should be in bed,” he scolded. He looked up at Sunako, “You should be finding somewhere to rest as well, Sunako, it’s nearly dawn.”

“We wanted to at least come down and see you first,” Natsumi said.

“Toya-Chan’s gonna’ be alright, isn’t she?” Akari asked.

“If Natsuno-Ojisan can’t find her…”  
“…No one can!”  
Two more voices broke from up the stairs with a giggle. The others looked up to find Akira’s two children, Kenori and Aya standing at the top of the stairs.

Natsuno smiled, “Thanks for the vote of confidence, kids.”

“You certainly seem to have made an impression on the little ones,” Misaki giggled.

“I didn’t think he had it in him to get along with kids,” 3D teased.

“Shut up!” Natsuno snorted, trying not to laugh. “No one asked for comments from the peanut gallery.”

In truth, Natsuno and Tohru both knew they’d never have their own, due to several different, obvious, elements in their relationship, so even though they knew the emotional hazards that came with it, they allowed themselves to spoil Tohru’s nieces and nephew as if they were their own.

“Natsuno-Niisan,” Akira interrupted, “Who are your friends, and why does Sunako look like she’s seen a ghost?”

“Hunters tend to have that effect on Shiki. A single touch from that priestess back there, and Sunako’s entire arm would feel as if it were on fire,” Natsuno answered. He sat Natsumi back on the ground and patted the top of her head, before turning to the two humans who had accompanied him to the door. “I’m still not sure why these two insisted on coming here with me, but, everyone, meet Miko Misaki and Dr. Dalton Dale, better known as 3D.”

“Do they have something to do with the favor you needed to ask?” Aoi inquired.

“In a way, yeah,” Natsuno nodded. “I think everyone needs to sit down.”

Things were growing desperate already, he knew dawn was quickly approaching and Sunako would be forced to find somewhere to hide and sleep. While he was trying to find leads, tie up loose ends, and hopefully get the assistance he knew he needed, he did a magnificent job of explaining things to everyone without his mask wavering to show how worried he really was. So far, he’d not heard from either of the other two Jinrou since he’d told them he had a stop to make. Tohru and Toya were still with their captors, undergoing who knows what horrors. Were they being manhandled and mistreated? Was Tohru somewhere safe from the sun when it rose? He tried to push these worries to the back of his mind while he explained what he knew of the situation. It wouldn’t do any of them any good if the one person everyone believed was their only hope suddenly got emotional in front of them.

“Absolutely not!” Tamotsu argued. “I have no intention of getting bitten, and I won’t allow the children to be either.”

“What do you think I am?” Natsuno growled, “I never said the kids had to take any part of this! Hell, the youngest person I ever bit was Akira, and he was what, thirteen at the time? I was only two years older than him, and he willingly offered.”

Akira blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his head. Before anyone could say another word, Natsuno’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out, seeing Toshio’s name light up across the screen, flipping it open, he put the call on speaker. “NATSUNO, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?” Toshio’s voice came over the phone.

“Hey, is that THE doctor Ozaki?” 3D asked, “The doctor from Sotoba who had done all that research on the Shiki in the first place?”

“Yep, Dr. O, the one and the same,” Natsuno answered with a nod.

“Who’s that?” Toshio asked.

“A fan of your work,” Natsuno grunted. “I’m back at the Mutou house, I had to double back for something. What’s up?”

“That cop from last night?” Toshio started. Natsuno could picture the older Jinrou leaning against a wall somewhere, snatching his cigarette out of his mouth and exhaling a cloud of smoke right before he spoke. Incidentally, he would be right. “You’re certain he said his name was Omawarisan Junsa, right?”

Natsuno and Aoi exchanged looks, both raising an eyebrow. “That’s right,” Aoi answered, “Why do you ask, Ozaki-Sensei?”

“The guy’s in the hospital,” Toshio sighed.

“WHAT!?” Natsuno and Aoi exclaimed, Natsuno almost dropping the phone.

“I went by to ask him if they had any progress on the blood sample. I was informed he’d been admitted to the hospital, someone jumped him on his way back to the station last night. He never got a look at his attacker, but they made off with all the evidence he had on him. The leads we’d hoped to get with the cops are all dead ends,” Toshio informed them.


	13. Roukan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoi's irrate client finally shows his face, but he's not alone. Meanwhile, the three Jinrou have found an unexpected ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (THIS NOTE IS SHOWN AS IT WAS POSTED ON FANFICTION.NET!)  
> To all my new favoriters and followers for this story, thank you all for your support, I’m glad you’re enjoying the story. XxxCheshireCat, I’m glad you were able to find Parts 2 & 3, as much as I know you loved the first one. Smochida, RinRin-Chama, welcome aboard. And Smochida, thanks so much for your comment, I really got a good giggle out of it, don’t worry, Natsuno won’t let Tatsumi go lightly for messing with his Tohru-Chan, I can promise you that. Hey, I’m introducing two more OCs of my own in this one, and the hospital name is the combination of two real hospital names from Japan (since Sotoba is a fictional village, I’m not going to use real place names if I can help it.) By the way, is it me, or is Toya-Chan trying to steel Tohru-Chan’s thunder for comedy relief? Don’t worry, her idolization of Natsuno is purely setting him in the role of a father-figure, which even he realizes is quite ironic. So, I’ve got something I need to tell you all. I’m going to try and get as much of this story written and posted before April 26th as possible, there will most likely be no post during the 26th and 27th. My Birthday is April 27th and my dad is having a crawfish boil at his house on the 26th, so I might be away from my computer for the full duration of both days, but I have the 25th off, so if there’s anything posted on the 26th, it’ll be early morning after finishing whatever I’m working on the night before. Also, wish us luck! My husband had a job interview yesterday, and he’s got his second interview with them today. I’m about to head out and take him there now.

Chapter 13: Roukan

 

Natsuno’s hand began to visibly shake. These people, whoever they are, knew what they were doing in covering their tracks. Everyone in the Mutou household stood breathlessly staring at the phone. Aoi’s hands were cupped around her mouth. Kaori and Tamotsu were hugging one another and their children, while Akira tried to comfort his own. Misaki and 3D exchanged uncomfortable looks, as though they finally realized they were intruding on this family. Mrs. Mutou was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief while Mr. Mutou was hugging her from behind. Sunako sat silent and wide-eyed in the corner she’d wedged herself into when she first sensed the Miko. The air in the room was solemn. The voice of the same man who’d told them all Tohru was dead eleven years ago was now telling them their final leads on locating him and his niece were completely missing. Toshio wasn’t even in the room with them, and yet, he could feel the weight he’d just put on them. The silence on their end of the phone was almost as if he’d just told them Tohru was dead a second time. “Natsuno?” Toshio sighed after a pause that seemed to last for ever.

Natsuno turned off the speaker and brought the phone to his ear. “Yeah, I’m still here,” he answered solemnly. “I see, so that’s how it is, then? Then there really is only one option left?” He closed his eyes and nodded. He was suddenly grateful he didn’t need to breath, for if he had, the sigh that would have left his lips would have washed away his mask completely. There was no emotion in his voice at all as he spoke. “Thank you, Ozaki-Sensei,” he said with that quiet nod.

Tamotsu started to scold Natsuno, asking how he could possibly be so calm. But then, he realized; he saw that quick flicker of attempted-to-remain-hidden emotion in Natsuno’s eyes and the way the Jinrou’s hand was shaking. This calmness was all a front, a show for their sake. In reality, Natsuno’s mind was an absolute mess. Tamotsu felt bad for having yelled at him at all now. “Natsuno…” Tamotsu said, quietly, apologetically.

******************************************************************************************  
*~Meanwhile~*  
******************************************************************************************

Toshio stood outside the police station, taking one last drag off of his cigarette as he stuffed his cell phone back into his pocket, before snuffing it out and throwing it away. “I hated to have to tell him that,” he lamented, looking up at Seishin. “I could tell, it really tore the kid apart.”

“It’s still information he needed to know,” Seishin quietly replied. “If the officer had at least seen his attacker, then perhaps we could get some information out of him.” The former monk lightly bit at the tip of his thumb as he spoke.

Toshio blinked. “We still might can,” he stated. “I asked which hospital he’s in. He might not have got a look at the guy, but there might be OTHER details we can get from him, like how he was attacked.”

“Neither of us are police, and this isn’t Sotoba, where the two of us hold the most influence over the parishioners. He’s a cop, they’re bound to have his room guarded. I doubt their going to just let us…” Seishin started to object.

Toshio smiled and cut Seishin off before he could finish that statement, already knowing where he was going with it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his license to practice. “I know it’s been eleven years since you turned, but did you forget already? I’m a doctor, and you’re a priest. We can speak to someone outside and simply waltz right on in there.”

Seishin blinked, a small smile slowly creeping across his face. “Then why are we wasting our time around here? Let’s go,” he said with a quiet laugh as he adjusted his glasses.

Toshio smiled, that’s what he liked to hear. “I’m right behind you,” he nodded, tucking his license back into his pocket.

******************************************************************************************  
*~Meanwhile~*  
******************************************************************************************

Tohru had tried desperately to pull loose from the bonds holding him. Knowing the cross was there made him paranoid, looking up and actually seeing it made him feel frantic. Not knowing what Tatsumi and the wolves working with the Jinrou would do to them made him nervous. Knowing Toya was mixed up in all of this, and it was all a plot to get at Aoi and Natsuno, with Tamotsu next on the agenda made him furious. Every movement he made, however, forced a shiver and a stifled groan of pain from his slowly healing shoulder. He’d fed earlier that night, but the cross was slowing his healing process.

Toya had fallen asleep some time ago, she’d sat in a corner and quietly cried herself to the point of exhaustion. She’d pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them, with her arms behind her back, she’d be stiff from that pose when she woke up. Exhaustion was the only reason she was asleep so peacefully at the moment, she didn’t have her lucky rabbit with her, after all. Tohru’s mind was full of worry for the child, as he realized countless unwelcome scenarios that could befall her if he couldn’t find some way to at least get her away from here. Especially once he fell asleep and could no longer keep a watchful eye on her.

To make matters worse, that was exactly what it was coming down to. Tohru could feel his body slowly shutting down, trying to force him into a ‘dead’ sleep, which he would only be able to wake up from once the sun set. Panicked at the all too familiar sensation, he looked away from Toya, toward the walls and ceiling. His eyes roved around the room they were in. There didn’t appear to be a single window to allow in any form of light. He gave a quiet sigh of relief, his mind relaxing to a small degree. Except for the cross that held him in place, he would be safe during the day. But he still wouldn’t be able to watch over Toya. As his eyelids began to become too heavy for him to hold open, he fell limp and motionless. Rather than struggling to get away, he began to try and struggle to stay awake. Yet another thing he had that most Shiki didn’t was the ability to dream at certain points of the day when the sun moved into positions that would allow the dead sleep to waver, and when he was alone, those dreams were often nightmares.

As he lost the ability to stay awake, he took solace in one single thought, “At least they won’t kill us. I don’t expect Natsuno to give in, but for his plan to even remotely have the chance to work, Tatsumi needs us both alive.”

Toya stirred, blinked her eyes open and gave a moan as she tried to move. She was stiff and sore from the position she’d fallen asleep in. “Tohru-Ojisan?” she quietly called out to her uncle, shifting her eyes in his direction.

“He’s asleep,” a voice answered her.

Toya gave a startled squeak as she looked up at the speaker, that wasn’t the same person who’d been talking to them just hours ago. This man stood about the same height, but was dressed in a brown business suit, with a thick black ponytail hanging down to his shoulders. His eyes were stormy grey. “Who… are you?” she asked, pushing herself as far against the wall as she possibly could.

He smiled, and gave a partial bow. “My name is Okuriinu Roukan,” he introduced himself. “You must be Kobayashi Toya, daughter of Mutou Aoi and Kobayashi Goro?”

She frowned at the mention of her father’s name and craned her body where she could look past him towards her uncle. “Is Tohru-Ojisan alright?” she asked.

“The Fang is fine,” Roukan assured her with a nod. “What relation does he and his companion have to your mother?” Roukan only knew what he did of Aoi through having conducted business with her. Nothing more.

“They’re my uncles,” Toya answered honestly, “Tohru-Ojisan is Momma’s brother.”

Roukan raised an eyebrow, “So how is his half-fang companion…?”

Toya blinked, then deadpanned at him, giving a look that seemed to ask, ‘Are you serious?’ One thing was certain, he was NOT expecting the answer that came from the innocent, naïve, six-year-old’s mouth. “Natsuno-Ojisan is Tohru-Ojisan’s husband.” She said it without flinching, as if it were an accepted social norm.

Roukan blinked, speechlessly for a moment, a smile slowly crossing his face. “Re~a~h~lly,” he chuckled, his eyes shifting toward the unconscious Shiki. “But their both guys, right? Interesting. And here, my clan was thinking that one was your mother’s boyfriend or something.”

“Nope!” Toya answered. Her eyes shifted back to Tohru. “Tohru-Ojisan’s asleep… It’s daytime right?”

Roukan nodded. “That’s right.”

“Untie me!” she chirped.

Roukan laughed. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

The child shook her head. She had vampires for uncles, after all. “Why would I be afraid of a bunch of doggies?” She ignored the look on Roukan’s face as she repeated her initial request. “Untie me.”

“Why would I do that? If I untied you, you’d run away,” Roukan smirked.

She frowned. “Untie me, please.”

Roukan looked into her eyes and suddenly realized the reason for her request. If he didn’t untie her soon, he’d be owing the child a new change of clothes. He sighed and rubbed the side of his head. “Hold on a moment,” he begrudgingly growled. He turned and whistled down the hallway. A young woman walked out, she had elbow-length curly brown hair, vivid cloudy blue eyes, and wore a black miniskirt, white button up top, and black business jacket with a pair of black high heels. Her skin was a light ashen color. “You called, Rou-Chan?” she asked.

Roukan sighed, “Lupita-Chan, I think the girl needs to ‘go for a walk’.”

Lupita blinked curiously for a moment. Then smiled as she realized what he meant. “Oooh, I see,” she nodded. Lupita walked up and playfully nuzzled against Roukan’s elbow with her nose. “Is the big bad wolf too shy to take Little Red Ridding Hood out to the fire hydrant?” she giggled.

“Stop that and just take her already,” he groaned, pushing his face into his palm.

Lupita giggled, untied Toya’s hands, and lead her to the bathroom. “Come on, Cub, this way,” she said sweetly.

Roukan waited until he was alone, then knelt down next to the unconscious Shiki. Grabbing a handful of blonde curls, he tilted Tohru’s head so that he could see his face. He chuckled. “I suppose this one does have a few girlish features, though.”

“I didn’t think you were into that sort of thing, Okuriinu-San?” Tatsumi chuckled, slipping up behind the werewolf.

“You saw what just walked out of here,” Roukan said nodding in the direction Lupita and Toya had gone, “Why in the hell would I be interested in anything else? Especially with a Fang? But when the girl said this one and the one my pack chased down last week were married, I couldn’t resist getting a closer look to try and understand the appeal.”

“She said they’re what!?” Tatsumi asked, with a surprised flinch. He blinked as these words took their time to register, before giving a sinister smile and a devilish chortle. “Oh, I see, so that’s how it is, is it?” He knelt down and caught Tohru by the chin. “Natsuno doesn’t surprise me in the least, but you, Tohru? I wonder how Ritsuko-Sama would feel if she knew that? Oh, and poor Megumi-Chan, wherever her soul went, must be screaming her eyes out over the thought.”

“He can’t hear you when he’s like that can he?” Roukan asked.

“They can hear and sense everything around them when they sleep,” Tatsumi answered, “They’re just not capable of doing anything about it or responding to it. We could take the girl, leave him here, and set the entire place on fire. He’d know what was going on, but be helpless to do anything.” Tatsumi stood up and sneered down at the unconscious Shiki. “The problem is, I need them both alive right now.”

******************************************************************************************  
*~Meanwhile~*  
******************************************************************************************

Seishin stood outside the hospital, phone to his ear. By the time he answered, Natsuno had already made it back home and was searching the room for clues as to what happened, how the kidnapper had gotten the drop on Tohru. “Find anything helpful?” Seishin asked.

“Nothing yet,” Natsuno’s voice replied.

“You can assure me Sunako’s safe with the Mutou family, they won’t do anything while she’s asleep?” Seishin asked.

“Aoi promised me she would keep an eye on her,” Natsuno answered, assuringly. “What about you guys, find anything else out?”

“Toshio and I are at the hospital where the officer had been admitted. He spoke to someone and got us in; apparently our professions before turning still have some advantages. It’s a good thing we reported the broken window and the two of them missing while we were at the police station…”

“You did what?” Natsuno exclaimed, “Dr. O never said anything about that, and it doesn’t look like any cops have been here yet." There was still glass everywhere, nothing had been disturbed since they all ran out to start their search. There were no police or police cars, and there was no sign of police tape anywhere. "Why is it a good thing? What'd you find?"

“You’re certain Tohru never left home last night after the cops left?” Seishin pried.

“The hell are you carrying on about? I didn’t let him out of my sight after I got home last night!” Natsuno insisted, “Hell, he was barely willing to let me out of his sight last night, the slightest hint that I might even step more than three feet away and I felt him catch my sleeve and try to pull me back. Seishin, what are you not telling me?”

“Well, the cop has a bite mark on his neck,” Seishin sighed, adjusting his glasses.

“Werewolf, right?” Natsuno asked hopefully.

“Okiagari,” Seishin answered.

Natsuno froze, once again glad he didn’t need to breath, as he found himself unable to even force himself to do so at that moment. “Oak-Okiagari?” he finally choked out.

Seishin gave a quiet, solemn nod. “Two puncture marks that look like bug bites; decidedly NOT typical of a wolf, but very typical of a Vampire.”

For the third time now, Natsuno could almost feel the phone about to shatter into pieces in his hand as he held it. Once more, he was deafly silent as this information registered in his mind. Toshio walked up behind Seishin and blinked as the former monk pulled his ear from his own cell phone’s receiver, both blinking in surprise as Natsuno’s voice roared so loud that passersby could hear him. “TATSUMI…!” Of that, he was now dead certain. Natsuno’s growl was followed by the sound of something being kicked, or thrown, or perhaps that was a fist slamming on his bookshelf? The two less experienced Jinrou glanced worriedly at one another.

“Man, he’s really unstable,” Toshio said.

Seishin scowled at the doctor for a moment, but before he could say anything, Natsuno’s voice came back over the phone. “Which hospital did you say you were at?”

“We didn’t,” Toshio mumbled, only for Seishin to pinch his ear. “Oww…!”

“Sekiguchi Takashitu Kure,” Seishin answered, “Why? … Is that a motorcycle I hear in the background?”

“Yeah, Miko Misaki just pulled into the parking lot. I’m on my way, stay where you are,” Natsuno answered.

Seishin flinched, but before he could say another word, they heard the sound of Natsuno hanging up. “Miko Misaki? Tell him don’t bring that crazy broad around here,” Toshio grumbled.

“Like he’d listen,” Seishin answered, “Besides he’s already hung up.”


	14. Who's Got Who?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tohru and Toya-Chan are still at the mercy of Tatsumi and the werewolves, but Roukan's mate Lupita seems determined to keep the little one safe from harm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not story related, but OHMIGOSH! They’re waiting for the background check and then we’ll know when my husband starts his job! … Back to being story related, I’m sorry for how this chapter ends, but I just really didn’t feel like it was going anywhere, and things just started feeling awkward with it. That said, I think we’re getting closer to the end. I had one person tell me that in “Brainwashing and Blackmail” their favorite part of the story was also their least favorite as Natsuno was a total bad ass and saved Tohru, but that it seemed as though I was giving Tatsumi the raw end of the deal, as I didn’t write the fight scene to show his advanced abilities since he’s been a Jinrou longer. If you’ve read my author’s notes in “Shiki Karneval” you’ll know that I see fight scenes as my one weak point in writing, but I will at least TRY to make up for that mistake when we get to that point in this story.

Chapter 14: Who’s Got Who?

 

Tohru blinked his eyes open. His shoulder was still sore, having not fully healed during his sleep. Now, he could feel the hunger trying to take him. His eyes were still their natural brown, showing it wasn’t strong enough to overtake him just yet. He began desperately searching the room for Toya, hoping she was still safe. He jolted into an upright position when he heard her giggle. Turning his head in the direction of the girl’s laugh, he found her playing with a beautiful young woman with curly brown hair. “Toya-Chan?” he called.

“Tohru-Ojiiisaaan!” Toya called happily, jumping to her feet and running over to him. “You’re awake. I asked them to untie you, but they won’t do it.”

Tohru smiled and gently nuzzled the girl’s shoulder as she hugged him, unable to do much else. “It’s probably for the best at the moment, Toya-Chan… Unless they plan on feeding me soon?” he hinted, glancing toward the brown haired woman.

Hearing this, Lupita leapt to her feet and pulled the child away, for her own safety. “I’ve been told not to feed you at all,” she stated almost regretfully. “Nor am I to untie you. I certainly won’t stand by and risk letting the cub here get bitten.”

Tohru smirked. “Do you honestly think I’d bite my own niece, even in a hunger fit? While I appreciate the concern for her safety, I’ve already told her to stay away if I get hungry enough to frenzy, but even so, I’d aim for you first, you’re a bigger target, with a lot more to offer.”

“Feed him, Lupita,” Roukan’s voice came from behind.

Lupita turned to see her mate standing in the doorway, arms crossed, holding an unopened bottle of the blood supplement drink. She blinked curiously at him. “But, Rou-Chan? Didn’t Tatsumi-Kun say…?”

“I don’t care what the half-fang said,” Roukan snarled. “Our plight is with the girl’s mother, not this Fang and his Halfling lover. That’s Tatsumi’s own agenda. I’ll not risk a half-starved Vampire breaking loose and attacking the entire pack.” That said, he flipped the cap off the bottle with a single flick of his thumb, as if the bottle was meant to be opened so easily. “Now feed him.”

Lupita took the bottle from Roukan and left Toya standing next to him. She turned back and knelt down in front of Tohru. Luckily enough, it was a bottle of AB+ AB-, the one flavor Tohru had found he could stomach the flavor without having any weird effects on his behavior. Carefully catching the Shiki’s chin, so as to avoid getting bitten, she forced his head titled upward and put the bottle to his lips. “Drink,” she ordered. Tohru found in his current situation, he couldn’t refuse, though he did find it embarrassing to have someone else hold the bottle for him, a fact that was given away by the light tone of red that washed over his face. “Aaww…” Lupita giggled, “Isn’t that cute? So Fangs can blush after all.”

“I said feed him, Lupita, not drown him,” Roukan sighed, holding onto Toya’s wrist, as he watched the she-wolf pull the bottle away from Tohru’s lips already fully drained, within the blink of an eye.

Tohru closed his eyes and licked his lips where he could feel some of the drink trying to escape him. He gave his body one good shift and they heard a loud pop as he forced his shoulder back in place, using nearly all the fresh strength the supplement drink had given him to do so. He gave a slight cringe of pain, then gave a sigh of relief. “That’s much better,” he said. He gave a quiet smile as the two werewolves stared in awe that he knew how to do that with a single movement, especially with his hands tied behind his back. He smiled. His father had been an administrator for Toshio’s clinic back in Sotoba. He use to sit and read medical books whenever he had to spend days off from school there with him. With the hills and slopes and rough roads in Sotoba due to the mountains and fir trees, one book he made sure to familiarize himself was how to reset bones. “So, just WHAT is your problem with my sister?” he asked, his brown eyes settling on Roukan.

“That’s for me to know,” Roukan chuckled.

“Okuriinu-San is a rather wealthy client of your sister’s,” Tatsumi exposited, entering the room. He glared at the two wolves who’d disregarded his instructions, but continued to exposit, as he approached the bound Shiki. “He was using her as a broker to transport money, but somewhere along the way, she lost track of quite a substantial sum.” He knelt down in front of Tohru. “It was her error that allowed me to find out where she was.” He smirked and caught Tohru under the chin. “Thinking you and Natsuno were both long gone, I thought I’d fulfill my promise to you and turn your younger siblings since you failed to rid us of Natsuno as a threat.” He tilted Tohru’s head upward, forcing their eyes to meet. “But, there was a change of plans when I discovered you two were still around.”

“Ya’ know Tatsumi, I’m beginning to think you’re neither a Vampire nor a Werewolf, but the Snake from the garden of Eden,” Tohru hissed, jerking his head away from Tatsumi’s grasp. This subsequently earned Tohru a slap across the face as a reply.

“Hey! Leave Tohru-Ojisan alone, you big bully!” Toya exclaimed.

Tatsumi turned his head to glare at the girl, who fell quiet and ducked behind Lupita. “How long has she been untied?” he asked, standing up.

“All day,” Lupita answered truthfully, “we couldn’t leave her hands tied when she had to answer the call of nature, after all.”

“It’s not like the child’s going to run without her uncle,” Roukan pointed sensibly, “And she’s not going to be able to break those bonds holding him there.”

Tatsumi smirked. “Riiight… Her ‘UNCLE’,” he chuckled, glancing back at Tohru, over his shoulder. “More like her ‘Aunt’, from what I understand?”

Tohru flushed a little, but rather than dignify it with any sort of direct answer, he went with a different approach. “That reminds me, I heard what you said earlier. For your information, I know for a fact that Ritsu-Chan would have no qualms over my relationship with Natsuno,” he smiled as Tatsumi’s eyes twitched, perhaps the Jinrou had caught the underlying message there, “But as far Shimizu Megumi is concerned, for all Natsuno and I care, she can be left to rot.”

“Okuriinu-San, if our little Vampire ‘friend’ here is awake, that probably means it’s past the girl’s bedtime,” Tatsumi said, “Why don’t you and Lupita take her to the next room and tuck her in?” The two werewolves looked at Toya, then to each other, shrugged their shoulders, thinking that with the girl being six, this was sound logic, and Lupita scooped the child in her arms, carrying her out of the room. Tatsumi smirked. “Don’t worry about her,” he assured Tohru, before the Shiki could even utter a word of protest. “They won’t harm her. You should be more concerned about yourself. Tell me, how did YOU of all people make it out of the slaughter unscathed? You knew it was coming didn’t you? You’ve already admitted you knew he had come back.”

“No, I knew he was back, but he refused to tell me what he’d planned, worried of what you would do to me if you found out I knew anything,” Tohru answered.

“So, what, did he sneak you out of the village right before everything happened or something?” Tatsumi growled.

Tohru raised an eyebrow, what did it matter to Tatsumi? “Someone would have noticed I was missing then,” he answered, looking away. “No, he simply let me know he was back, and told me something, not what, but something was going to happen, and if we both made it through safely, he would let me leave with him. That’s all he said, nothing more. I had some close calls, but I got out on my own, although, Ritsu-Chan and I got separated during the commotion. Natsuno was too busy fighting you to have the chance to slip me out anyway.”

“Is that right?” Tatsumi grumbled. “So, how many made it out?”

“Why are you asking me all this?” Tohru inquired.

“Your darling Natsuno and I might have a death grudge, but I’m still a member of the same clan. As many as our numbers included in Sotoba, I’ve been out of the loop for the last eleven years. How many got out?”

“More humans than Okiagari. Yoshie’s dead, but there are still four Jinrou now that we know you’re back. For a while, we thought Sunako and myself were the only Shiki, but we’ve learned there’s a scant few others. Shimizu’s dead, and got the worst of it, we’re told they pinned her down with tractors before they staked her. Your favorite little pink playmate has no way of coming back and helping you terrorize either of us,” Tohru answered.

Tatsumi growled and landed a punch in Tohru’s stomach. “Don’t test my patience with you. You’ll be surprised what you can live through. Megumi was one of the few good Shiki that understood Sunako’s vision. I had no interest in her beyond that.”

“Sounds like you’re protesting a bit too much,” Tohru coughed, he would have laughed if not for the pain in his stomach from the blow, which had forced him to cough up some of his previous drink.

“You’re not taking me seriously at all are you?” Tatsumi growled, throwing another punch in frustration, this time landing it on Tohru’s jaw.

“Please,” Tohru scoffed. “My own Jinrou’s out there looking for me right now. I’m more afraid of what he can do to me than you and any number of these mutts.” Without looking back at it he nudged over his shoulder with his head, toward the cross he was tied to. “You obviously don’t even have enough confidence in your own abilities to keep me here if you’re resorting to crosses. So, you tell me, Tatsumi, who’s got who over a barrel?”


	15. The Pack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of Roukan's pack learn the relation between Tohru and the Jinrou and human girl that had given them an earlier beating, Tohru immidiately realizes which of the three wolves was the one that bit Natsuno's neck, and Tatsumi's being a sadistic jerk as usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New characters-though brief, so let's do this disclaimer thing again. Toya and her cousins, Miko Misaki, the six pack of werewolves well, the five wolves and their henchman Kobun-Kun making the sixth, the patrons at the Moon Bound Café, the Moon Bound Café itself, and Officer Omawarisan Junsa all belong to me. Dr. Dalton Dale (3D) belongs to nssix6 and has been used with permission. I do not own any of the original Shiki characters. Oh, and fair warning these next few chapters are going to be the darkest this series of fan-fics has ever gotten, just with the power of suggestion, I'm really letting Tatsumi's sadistic nature run free here, but still keeping this fic rated T for teen.

Chapter 15: The Pack

 

Toshio got Natsuno into the hospital, so that he could see Officer Omawarisan’s injury for himself. There was no doubt about it, these were the marks of an Okiagari bite. Omawarisan Junsa could have easily seen his attacker had have been hypnotized to forget what he looked like. The one thing he did remember clearly was that the person who attacked him seemed to stand taller than he did. However, he, himself, was the same height as Tohru.

Miko Misaki stayed outside, conversing with the former Junior Monk from the Sotoba temple. The two religious leaders looked up when Natsuno and Seishin rejoined them outside. “Say, kid, I’ve got a question,” Misaki asked, leaning against a pole with her arms crossed. “Have you tried tracking his phone?”

Natsuno looked at her as if she were nuts. “I thought of that, but he never keeps it on him unless he goes out at night. I looked before I took Aoi to their parents’ house, it’s sitting on the nightstand in his room,” he said sounding rather melancholy.

“Still can’t sense him, kid?” Toshio asked. Natsuno shook his head.

“I guess you two still need a few years yet before you can reach each other halfway across the city,” Seishin sighed.

“Or he’s in a situation that limits his ability to reach out,” Misaki pointed, ignoring the look the three Jinrou threw her way. She was well aware these three could individually be the most dangerous creatures she ever came across, let alone working together. After all, unlike the usual Shiki or Vampire who hunted humans for food, or Werewolves who attacked people for any myriad of reasons, the Jinrou were more dangerous because they had someone to protect; their less powerful Shiki brethren-particularly their sires, but she was merely speaking the truth. She sighed and rubbed the back of her head. “I tell you what. Let’s split up, they couldn’t have gone far last night, they had to move Tohru somewhere to keep him out of the sun. So they won’t be able to move him again until nightfall, if they intend to move him at all. But, there’s no promise he and the girl are being kept in the same place, either. If we split into two groups from here, maybe something will turn up.”

“What’s this ‘we’ stuff?” Toshio asked, taking notice of it.

“From what I’ve heard, there’s a chance that the person you three are hunting, and my current bounty are working together. I’m offering my assistance in the search,” Misaki answered. “But,” she looked toward her bike, away from the Jinrou, “IF we find the person I’m looking for, he’s my tag, I want the three of you to stay out of it.”

“If they’re together, then Okuriinu Roukan, if he’s there and alone, then you’re the one who’d better stay out of the way,” Natsuno warned her.

“And if it IS Tatsumi?” Seishin asked, cautiously.

“Then I’m sorry to say you’re taking his head back to Sunako on a silver platter, because after I stake that bastard, it’s coming off!” Natsuno growled. “This time, I’m going to make sure he can’t come back. Let’s go.”

The other three stood still as Natsuno started to walk away. This was a side of him they weren’t use to seeing. “That kid gets really scary when he’s mad,” Toshio quietly stated. The other two simply nodded. “Right, then… I’m with Seishin,” the former doctor said linking elbows with the former priest, “Good luck dealing with Natsuno!” he chuckled, turning his attention to the priestess.

Misaki gave Toshio an amused smile. “Which one of us are you avoiding, Sensei? Me, or the kid?”

Seishin and Toshio both looked at each other for a moment, then turned back to her. “BOTH!” they answered simultaneously.

“Fair enough,” she conceded with a sigh, walking back to her bike. “Natsuno, hop on!” she said as she popped her helmet on her head and revved up the motor.

******************************************************************************************  
*~Meanwhile~*  
******************************************************************************************

The second night passed and there was still no luck. Whatever Tatsumi and Roukan had devised to hide their presence was working well. Tatsumi was starting to consider the idea of calling Natsuno and making demands. He’d expected their veil to work, but not to this degree.

Instead, however, the green haired Jinrou found he was having more fun tormenting Tohru. He remembered the first night Tohru had bitten Natsuno. The blonde Shiki had merely taken enough blood to make Natsuno pass out, rather than drinking his fill. As punishment, Tatsumi bled Tohru to make him hungry, it was this combined with Tohru’s refusal to feed the night after that drove him to attack Natsuno in a frenzy when the boy had gotten too close during the second night.

Tatsumi chuckled, leaning against the door frame. “You prolonged Natsuno’s death for four or five whole nights by refusing to feed from him properly, slowly draining and torturing him, watching him suffer both mentally and physically, and then you still didn’t fully kill him with your final attack. It’s no wonder he came back as a Jinrou. I had really hoped the crematorium would have rid us of him before he could come back, you know. I was rather annoyed when I realized he was a Jinrou like myself, much like how Megumi had been annoyed that you returned as a Shiki. I wonder, was it really that brat that kept you tied to this world?” He smiled, he’d refused to let the wolves feed Tohru this night, standing between them and him when they came to check on him, and Tohru was refusing to answer him, or even look at him. “Once tonight passes, it’ll be three nights total, you know? Perhaps he really does hold a grudge against you over it and he’s prolonging your rescue in the same fashion as judgment or punishment?”

Tatsumi stifled a laugh as he saw that flicker in Tohru’s eyes, the monstrous hunger he’d been forcing back for so long trying to jump out. “Natsuno’s not like you, Tatsumi!” Tohru recanted. He was already aware Natsuno was unable to detect Tatsumi and the wolves unless he was extremely close to them. He couldn’t understand what Tatsumi thought he’d gain by antagonizing him in such a manner.

“Excuse me, Tatsumi-Kun?” a voice interrupted. Tatsumi looked over his shoulder to see one of Roukan’s underlings behind him with a tray of food. “This was sent from the kitchen.”

Tohru flinched as the scent of this younger wolf caught his nose. There was something distinctly familiar. He craned his body to the side to get a look at the speaker. It was male, of course, dressed in a black business suit with short brown hair and matching brown eyes. Tohru blinked. He was certain of it. “You… You’re the one who bit him,” Tohru quietly snarled.

Tatsumi blinked and chuckled. “Oh, I didn’t think it was possible for you to get mad, Tohru?” He smiled at the younger werewolf, this guy couldn’t have been much more than twenty years old, “You hear that Kamitsu-Kun? You’ve apparently trespassed on Tohru-Chan’s territory,” he laughed.

The younger wolf blinked. “I have no idea what you’re t…” He started to deny it, but then he caught whiff of the air around Tohru. “Wait? You mean the girl we were chasing wasn’t a Fang-Banger? That Half-Fang was with you?” he asked, looking straight at Tohru. Tatsumi tried not to laugh as Kamitsu’s face paled in realization. Tatsumi was starving this Shiki, and he’d definitely trespassed in Tohru’s territory by biting Natsuno’s neck. The young wolf suddenly wished he was anywhere but here. Both Okiagari could see the apprehension overtaking the young wolf.

Tatsumi chuckled, pulling Kamitsu into the room and closing the door as he took the plate of food and began eating. “This is delicious,” he chuckled, “My compliments to the chef.” The green haired Jinrou wedged himself in front of the door frame as he ate.

“You’re down right horrible, Tatsumi,” Tohru hissed, forcing his eyes closed and looking away. Now, he was starving, tied to a cross, with the werewolf who’d bitten Natsuno between him and Tatsumi, and the smell of real food wafting through the air.

Tatsumi blinked as he swallowed the last bit of food. “I’m impressed, Tohru,” he chuckled, handing the plate back to Kamitsu and opening the door. “You’ve got some real self control, don’t you?” Kamitsu took the plate and rushed out of the room the moment the door was open, not wishing to spend another moment longer in the room with the hungry Shiki. “You still haven’t frenzied.” Tatsumi approached the blonde with a smirk on his face, knowing good and well the Shiki wouldn’t attack him. He knelt down and caught Tohru’s chin, forcing eye contact. Tohru’s eyes slowly slid open, and Tatsumi smiled to see they had turned their vampiric black and red. He chuckled. “You’re hungry, but you’re trying to fight it. Anyone else would have frenzied by now. Not that it matters, even in a frenzy, you won’t bite me. One of the perks of being a Jinrou; we can feed from any source, Human, Animal, Shiki, other Jinrou… But Shiki can only feed from us if they sired us. Keep fighting that hunger, Blondie. Your precious Natsuno’s in for quite a surprise when he finds you.” With that, he turned and walked out of the room, quietly snickering to himself. Tatsumi caught up to Kamitsu in the hallway and wrapped an arm around the young wolf’s shoulders. “So, Kamitsu-Kun, who else was with you, when the girl escaped you?”

“There were three of us, myself; I managed to catch the Half-Fang’s neck. Hibiki-San was the one that got thrown and knocked out. Kouta-Kun had been the one to realize we weren’t dealing with a real Fang and took the blow from the girl,” he answered.

Tatsumi smiled devilishly. “Is that so?” he chuckled, “And yet your leader would insist that with three of his best being taken out by a single girl and a Jinrou who doesn’t even feed properly, the issue at hand is still only between the pack and the girl. Whatever happened to that ‘mess with one, you mess with the entire pack’ mentality? Go find your comrades, tell them we have the Half-Fang’s lover, see if either of them would like to take out some aggressions for having lost that fight, if so, then have them come with you when you bring dinner to me tomorrow night. In the meantime, tell Lupita-Sama that I request a bottle of the drink for our little captive. I won’t feed him enough to give him the strength to fight, but I will at least give him enough to keep the hunger at bay until you boys have made a decision.”

The next night, the three wolves returned. Hibiki appeared to be the older of the three, but was still in his early-to-mid-twenties, just like the rest of the pack, he was dressed in a business suit, only his was solid brown, aside from the white button up underneath. His hair was short and red and his eyes an icy blue. Kouta was the younger of the three, his hair was a mixture of brown and black to the degree that some spots looked like an ashen grey and it reached to the nape of his neck, he wore a kaki colored pair of business slacks with a grey business jacket. Having been the one to take the blow from Aoi with the pipe, his amber colored eyes were already transfixed on the bound Shiki full of rage. If there was anything he could do to this blonde that would get back at the girl and the Half-Fang that had beaten and humiliated the three of them, he was more than willing to do it.

Tatsumi smiled, seeing the determination in Kouta’s eyes. Tohru was aware of the wolves’ presence, as Tatsumi had said, he’d been nursing Tohru off the same bottle since the night before, just enough to keep the hunger at bay until the wolves made up their minds. The fact that Tohru was a full Vampire was enough to convince them there was need to regret taking out their anger toward Aoi and Natsuno for that fight on him. Werewolves and Vampires have been natural enemies for generations, now. “So, I see you boys decided to take up my offer?” Tatsumi hummed as he took his dinner plate from Kamitsu. “You look especially eager, Kouta-Kun.” He smiled, picked up a metal bat with his free hand and twirled it before handing it to the young wolf. “He’s been fed enough that he won’t attack you out of hunger, though, that stuff I gave you seemed to work with your gunman Kobun-Kun, so it should work for you as well if he does manage to sink his teeth into you, though, even that would take some work since I stuffed a gag in his mouth. As long as you keep him tied to the cross, he’ll be too weak to fight back anyway, and you boys are free to do whatever you like with him. Shove that bat up his ass for all I care,” he chortled. He’d been keeping an on Tohru the entire time, watching the look in the bound Shiki’s eyes. The green haired Jinrou found the entire thing amusing. “Is that fear I see in your eyes, little Vampire?” he chuckled, “I thought you said you were more afraid of what your own Jinrou could do to you than anything myself and these ‘mutts’ could dish out. Are we suddenly having second thoughts?” He began to laugh. “Too bad!” Chuckling, the Jinrou turned to leave the room, food in hand, “Right… I’m going to step outside and take my time eating this. You boys have until I return to play with him as you see fit, providing you don't kill him, of course. Have fun, now.”


	16. Safe Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuno and the others finally discover where Tohru and Toya are being held. Finding Toya-Chan safe and sound, Natsuno asks Seishin to take her back to her grandparent's house before a fight breaks out.

Chapter 16: Safe Now

 

The fifth night was soon upon them. The Mutou family was becoming anxious, as Natsuno hadn’t reported anything back to them. He knew they were worried, but couldn’t constantly call them with the bad news that he hadn’t found anything yet. If he contacted them, he wanted to give them something decisive, something solid, like, ‘We’ve Found Them,’ or, ‘I’ve picked up on the trail.’ He himself was becoming more and more desperate and it was becoming harder to hide it. By this point, it was apparent, Tohru was incapacitated somehow, whether unconscious, dead, or left somewhere or in some fashion that was severely hindering his strengths and abilities, it had to be something of the sort, or he would have been able to break free and been home by now, or at least would have been able to find SOME way of reaching out to the purple haired Jinrou. Tohru was the weakest out of the ‘Shiki/Jinrou Clan’, but he was still capable of protecting himself from a couple of werewolves. Understandably, though, if Tatsumi where there, he would have some difficulties; after all, with Yoshie gone, Natsuno and Tatsumi WERE the strongest and most experienced of the five known-to-have-existed Jinrou. Toya, on the other hand, was just a six year old human, she had no natural defenses. It made Natsuno cringe to think what was being done to either of them.

Misaki tried to console him, as best she could, while trying not to let Natsuno realize how obvious he was becoming. Not having to face Tohru’s family and tell them everything would be ok, his mask of calm, collectiveness had began to dissolve rapidly, especially after learning Officer Omawarisan had been attacked by an Okiagari, meaning Tatsumi’s involvement was almost unmistakable. Toshio and Seishin had remained in constant contact, yet they had found nothing on their end of the city. As they began recounting places they had and hadn’t looked, it became more and more apparent there was one place in town left. 

“Surely Tatsumi wouldn’t be THAT cliché would he?” Toshio scoffed.

“An abandoned store house near the wharfs?” Seishin asked with a smirk. “We’re dealing with a sadist, not a genius mastermind,” he sighed scratching the back of his head. “To be honest, I’m surprised none of us thought to look there first.

“Are there even any abandoned store houses near the wharfs?” Natsuno asked over the phone, “I thought they were all in use.”

“Well, if he’s using it, then it’s not necessarily abandoned any more, now is it?” Toshio replied as he lit a cigarette.

Seishin deadpanned at Toshio for a moment. “I realize that’s just you being you, Toshi, but are you TRYING to antagonize Natsuno like that?”

Toshio flinched at the childhood nickname. “No, that’s just me being me,” he replied puffing out a cloud of smoke.

Seishin shook his head and turned his attention back to the conversation. After a moment of deliberation, it was decided that would be their next place to look. The two groups would converge on the wharf and begin searching. It was decided Toshio would call Aoi and give them the news, it wasn’t much, but it was at least SOMETHING. “How did I get elected to make this call?” Toshio asked, more curiously than irritated as he scrolled through his phone menu for Aoi’s number.

“Because of the attitude you’ve been having throughout this whole thing, and because you’re a doctor… You’re use to delivering news over the phone,” Seishin answered.

“Fair enough reasons, I suppose,” Toshio sighed as he hit the call button.

“It’s been days, kid,” Misaki said as Natsuno hung up the phone. “You’ll have to feed again to be back at full strength if we find them.” She looked up as the last lights of the sun slowly began disappearing into the horizon.

“Are you offering me YOUR blood?” Natsuno asked with a stifled laugh. “No offense, Misaki-Sama, but I’m afraid if I drank your blood, I’d become completely purified and implode.”

“NOT if you were already becoming a Hunter before you were turned to begin with, as your clan’s former queen suggested,” the Miko pointed, pulling the sleeve of her leather jacket away from her wrist and offering it up. “If anything, it might make you stronger than feeding from humans.”

“And Tohru-Chan?” Natsuno sighed worriedly, “What would it do to him if I drink your blood and he bites me? If they haven’t been feeding him, what will it do?”

Misaki smiled at him reassuringly. “By then, your own blood will have done with it whatever it needs to. It shouldn’t harm or hinder him in the least.”

The four members of the search party met at the wharfs, just outside the storage units. They were all nervous when they got there. There were at least fifty large store houses, and if their adversaries were truly in the vicinity, they could easily be in any one of them, or even be spread out among them. Natsuno smiled. “Relax guys, it’s just a bunch of mutts, a human, and a Jinrou,” he said, “It’s not like we’re a group of humans about to walk through a horde of Zombies.” He rolled his tongue over the tip of one of his fangs as he thought, “Just don’t waltz in and shout ‘Hello’.”

Toshio and Seishin blinked, at each other. Natsuno was standing tall and proud, brimming with confidence again. “What did you do before you brought him over here?” Toshio remarked.

Miko Misaki hid her wrist and forced back the giggle she felt trying to escape her throat. “I gave him a little pep talk,” she said with a smile.

Natsuno shushed his three companions and closed his eyes. He was trying to focus, forcing his mind to reach out for Tohru’s, hoping the Shiki was indeed close enough to… There! Natsuno flinched and opened his eyes, though keeping them narrowed in anger. “Tohru’s definitely here,” he stated flatly. But he could sense it, his precious Shiki was weak and weary from hunger, and lost in a fit of pain and fear. His strength was wavering, he couldn’t heal himself properly since Tatsumi refused to feed him anything else after the wolves had finished with him the night before, or at all tonight.

Even though he had left the room to let the wolves have their fun with him, he had kept watch on a small camera he had hidden in the room. He’d taken delight in watching them break and mangle him. As he had warned, ‘You’d be surprised what you can live through.’

Roukan and his pack of five, Kobun, Tatsumi, Tohru, and Toya, these nine were the only ones who had been on the premises for the last five days. Tohru’s first conscious stir of the night was when he felt Natsuno trying to reach out to him. He forced himself up, shook his head, closed his eyes, and tried to answer him. His Jinrou was here, this nightmare would soon be over, he and Toya were safe now. At least, he hoped Toya would be safe now, they’d not allowed the girl anywhere near him since the second night, once they realized Tatsumi was purposefully trying to force him into a frenzy. However, Tohru’s second stir was when he realized the presence of those who were accompanying Natsuno. Toshio and Seishin, he would have smiled to know they were there, if not for that fourth presence, that unmistakable aura, there was only one person they knew who had a presence that strong. If not for the fact that the cross was the only thing looming behind him, he would have wedged himself against it in fear. What was Miko Misaki doing here with Natsuno?

The others sensed it to. Every one of the werewolves froze with their hair on end as they sensed the Miko’s presence. They knew she was there for them, not the Jinrou. They had sensed her first, then they sensed the others. Three more Jinrou, Half-Fangs, like Tatsumi. They only had one advantage up their sleeves for such opponents, and the sky was cloudy enough to keep it secret.

Natsuno pinpointed which building the others were in and barged inside. “Hold it right there!” Kobun exclaimed.

“Cowards,” Natsuno scoffed.

“Leaving the human to guard the door?” Seishin sighed.

“Put the gun down,” Misaki insisted, “It won’t do you any good against any of us." She stepped in through the door, then turned to look at the three Jinrou, with a smile. "Come on in, fellas," she invited.

“Leave him to me,” Toshio sighed, exhaling a puff of smoke, a glint of amusement in his eye. Kobun only had time to blink before the doctor was standing behind him, finding just the right pressure point on the gunman’s neck, he pinched it. He held his cigarette with one his other hand, taking a deep drag off of it. Kobun’s eyes rolled before they closed and he fell breathlessly to the floor. As Toshio released the gunman, he exhaled a long cloud of smoke.

“Geeze, Toshio!?” Natsuno exclaimed.

“Relax, he’s not dead,” the former doctor stated, “Just unconscious.” He used a single hand to lift the man onto his shoulder and carry him outside, leaving him in a ditch, ignoring the bottle of liquor that rolled out of the man’s coat, leaving him to look as though he were simply a passed out drunk. Toshio turned and joined the others inside. “I have a hunch that’s your gunman and kidnapper out there. He’ll be out cold until morning. Think we should call the cops?”

“Not yet,” Natsuno refused, “NOT until I know Toya and Tohru are both safe. If what I sensed is true, the state Tohru’s in… The cops showing up is not a good idea.” The others nodded.

“What’s all the noise…?” a tiny feminine voice rang out. A door opened and the voice continued, “Where is everyone?” The wolves had all gathered in the back, leaving the child alone, Lupita had forgotten to lock the door before hand.

“Toya-Chan!” Natsuno called.

“Natsuno-Ojisaan!” Toya exclaimed, slipping out of the room and running to him.

Natsuno gave a sigh of relief, catching the girl up in his arms and hugging her tight, but being gentle enough not to hurt her. “Toya-Chan, oh, Sweetheart, are you alright?” He gently brushed a hand through her soft golden locks.

Toya nodded, tightening her grip on him. “I’m fine! I knew you’d come for us,” she chirped. “But… Tohru-Ojisan, they won’t let me see him, and I heard the doggies say that the guy with ears was trying to keep him hungry.”

Natsuno had been afraid of that. It explained a lot. “Everything’s going to be alright, now, Toya. I’m here to bring you both home.” He looked into her eyes. She didn’t appear to have been harmed or left for want of food herself, he clothes could stand to be changed and she looked like she needed a bath and a hair brush, but beyond that, she was unscathed. “… As a matter of fact, YOU’RE getting out of here right now,” he decided, kissing her forehead. “Seishin, can you take her back? I want her as far away from here as possible before things have a chance to get out of hand. I want you to take her to her mother and call the cops when you’re half way there.” Seishin nodded.

“No,” Toya whimpered, wrapping her arms tighter around Natsuno’s neck. “Natsuno-Ojisan, I don’t wanna’ leave without…”

“Toya…?” Natsuno sighed, quietly, leaning against the wall as he ran a gentle hand through her hair. “Precious, it’s alright,” he assured her. “Look, everyone’s at Grandma and Grandpa’s, worried sick about you… And Lucky misses you.” He gently caressed her cheek and gave a quiet smile, thankful she was alright. Remembering that since she was still a child, he would have to reason with her the way Tohru would. "Remember that story Uncle Tohru was reading you the other night?" She nodded, not bothering to ask how he knew about it, since she was aware of his good sense of hearing. He smiled. "Well, this is something like that. I'm sorry it took me so long to find you both, but I had to find the blood red rose that would give me the strength to save you and your Uncle Tohru."

“You’re waxing poetically, kid,” Toshio snorted. “Never thought I’d hear it from you, but it’s kind of nice.”

“Gave him a pep talk, did you?” Seishin asked, turning his eyes suspiciously toward the female Hunter.

“What’s he talking about?” Misaki asked, looking at Seishin and pointing at Natsuno.

“Florinda and Yoringal, I believe the story was called,” Seishin replied, “Our little Toya-Chan has an interesting taste in Western Fairy Tales.”

“Alright,” the child nodded. “I’ll go with Seishin-Sama,” she agreed. She remembered Tohru’s words, ‘I might get scary when I get hungry.’ “You have to find Tohru-Ojisan and change him back to normal.”

The others tried their best not to laugh at her innocent remark. “Good girl,” Natsuno sighed, once again kissing her forehead. “Don’t worry, everyone will get home safe.” The child gave him a smile and a nod as she allowed Seishin to take her up in his arms to carry her home.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toya is home safe and sound, but Natsuno is fighting Tatsumi for his and Tohru's lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (THIS NOTE IS SHOWN AS IT WAS POSTED ON FANFICTION.NET!)  
> Aaargh… Stupid need for a fight scene trying to distract me from this chapter… OlLady, thank you for that review, I couldn’t help laughing. While I’m unsure what age you are to be calling what ages “whipper snappers”, I’m only using the terms due to where I placed this series in the last story. I’m well versed in the old Vampires and Dhampir stories. I’ve not only watched the Dracula films and played Vampire the Masquerade, but I’ve read Dracula the novel all the way through; which is why my brain refuses to accept Jinrou as anything more than day-walkers. ^_^ But, I do appreciate the review. I hope that beyond the “Fang” and “Half Fang” terminology you’re able to enjoy the story.

Chapter 17: Showdown

 

Hearing a knock at the door, everyone in the Mutou house jumped. The children had been either refusing or simply having trouble sleeping due to the circumstances and were just now dozing off. All four of them let out a startled gasp, jumping back awake when they heard the door knock. Sunako blinked, and smiled, recognizing the presence at the door. “It’s alright everyone,” she assured them, opening the door. “It’s only Seishin.”

“Muroi-Sama,” Mrs. Mutou sighed, “Please come insi…de…” She gasped quietly but happily, as her eyes fell upon the former Monk, and she realized what, or rather, who he had cradled into his arms.

“TOYA-CHAN!” everyone in the room gasped.

Even though Mrs. Mutou’s invitation hadn’t been completed, it was enough for Seishin to accept it as one and move inside, carrying the now sleeping six year old in with him. Aoi rushed toward him to take her daughter in her arms. “Momma?” Toya moaned softly, as the exchange woke her up.

“Oh, Toya, baby, are you alright?” Aoi asked, hugging her tight.

“I’m ok, just really tired,” Toya said, hugging her mother.

“Muroi-Sama, thank you so much for bringing her back,” Aoi said, teary eyed.

Seishin smiled at her, holding his hands in the air, open palmed. “It was nothing, really! I’m just glad she’s safe at home now.” He glanced around. “I suppose I should inform you all now, though, so that there aren’t any surprises. On my way here, I called the police to inform them where we found Toya, and where I was taking her. They’re sending officers and paramedics to each location. It’s likely Toya-Chan’s not going to need to be hospitalized or anything, but the dispatch was determined she needed to be checked over to ensure she’s as well as she says she is.”

The others all nodded in understanding, such reasoning did make sense. “What about Tohru-Niisan and Natsuno?” Aoi asked, still hugging her daughter tight.

Seishin closed his eyes and tilted his head. “The others were still there, when I left. We found Toya unguarded and without Tohru anywhere in sight. Natsuno knew Tohru was there, but he seemed apprehensive about something, though, he wouldn’t tell any of us what was bothering him. He asked me to bring Toya back rather than waiting, just incase things became too dangerous for her to remain on the premises.” Seishin reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I haven’t heard from them yet, but he promised me he’d call as soon as they were headed home.” Again, everyone nodded.

“They’ll be alright, I’m sure of it,” Sunako said quietly, as her Jinrou approached her.

Seishin smiled sadly, yet sweetly at his Shiki and knelt down so that he was eye level with her. “We believe Tatsumi really is there, Sunako. I have no doubt in my mind Natsuno will put an end to him this time. I’m sorry, Sunako, I know you two were close.”

Sunako gave a quiet sigh, closed her eyes, and shook her head. “If he had come to me first, then all of this could have been prevented,” she said softly, “I have not been responsible for his actions for the past eleven years. I’ll be sorry to know he’s really gone, but at this point, it can’t be helped.”

Seishin sighed and nodded, accepting her answer. He gently took her hands in his own. “I’m sorry this has taken Toshio and I away from your side for so long. Have you been alright?” he asked.

Sunako smiled and nodded, with a giggle, “I’m perfectly fine, Muroi-San. Mutou-San and Mutou-Sama have been quite hospitable, and the young doctor that came here with Yuuki-Kun earlier… He said he realized this wasn’t the appropriate time for it, and he had someone he needed to get back to, who had heard what was going on and he knew was worried about Tohru-Kun. But, he wants the three of us to come visit his clinic some night after all this is out of the way,” she stated.

Toshio chuckled and nodded. “Very well. After everyone’s home, safe and sound, we’ll go and visit him.” Sunako smiled and nodded.

Aoi sat on the couch, holding Toya in her arms, quietly stroking a hand through her daughter’s golden tresses. She felt as though a weight had been lifted off her heart and chest. The rest of the family sat in the room, as close as they could get without crowding them in, everyone of them teary-eyed and happy to have the girl home. Toya hugged her mother and quietly nuzzled her neck. “Don’t cry, Momma,” she whispered sleepily. “I missed you, but I wasn’t scared, and they didn’t hurt me,” she insisted. In truth, Lupita had been put in charge of watching Toya the entire time, and the she-wolf’s maternal instincts kept the child safe, fed, clean, and entertained. Toya was more concerned about Tohru than herself, but she didn’t know how to voice it.

“I know Baby, I know,” Aoi whispered softly, giving Toya a “momma bear” hug, “It’s just that I’m so glad to have you home.” 

******************************************************************************************  
*~Meanwhile~*  
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Followed by Toshio and Misaki, Natsuno made his way toward the end of the building. Natsuno didn’t even stop to check if the door was locked or booby trapped before kicking it in, knocking it completely off it’s hinges.

“Reckless as ever, eh, Brat?” Tatsumi’s voice chortled.

“Tatsumi,” Natsuno growled, his eyes narrowing in on the green haired Jinrou.

Tatsumi tilted his head innocently to the side, a finger poking his cheek. That look had fooled so many people back in Sotoba. “Come now, is that anyway to greet someone you thought dead?”

“If anything, you’re the one person who should have stayed dead,” Natsuno growled.

“Tsk, I suppose I should have expected such a greeting from you. No, Natsuno, if anyone person in Sotoba should have never come back, it’s YOU,” the older Jinrou scowled.

“So what are you, all of a sudden?” Natsuno asked, “Judge, Jury, and Executioner?” he growled. “If you didn’t want me to rise up, you shouldn’t have sent the one person in the whole damned town that meant more to me than my own life to kill me.”

Tatsumi chuckled. “Ah yes, your ‘precious’ little Tohru, how easily you forgot about him once you saw me, though. I’m actually rather flattered.”

Natsuno glared at Tatsumi. “Where is he, Tatsumi?” Natsuno growled.

Tatsumi chuckled sinisterly. “Oh, he’s here,” he stepped aside, “I’ll let him go peacefully, if you surrender yourself in his place.” He smirked at the look on Natsuno’s face. “I guess that’s a ‘No’, huh? I figured as much.” Tohru should have been awake by now, but he appeared insomnious and completely unaware of what was going on around him. He hadn’t had the strength to heal himself from the previous night, either.

“What the hell did you do to him, Tatsumi!” Natsuno roared.

“Me?” Tatsumi held his hands to his chest and smiled. “I didn’t do anything,” he shook his head and waved his hands in the air, landing one on his hip and rubbing the fingernails from the other across his shirt, before holding them above his head to look at them, “My companions, however, when they learned his relationship to the Half-Fang and the human girl who took three of them out…” He cast his eyes sideways toward Natsuno, tilting his head downward a bit with a smile and a chuckle, casting his free hand in the direction toward Tohru, “They decided to leave a little message. If you won’t surrender in exchange for him, you’re welcome to try and take him back.” Both hands on his hips now, he leans forward, smiling as if he knows something. “But you were quite unfortunate to find us tonight of all nights.” He put two fingers to his lips and whistled. Suddenly, five werewolves in their bestial forms came out from behind the cross. This is a werewolf’s strongest form, and it can only be assumed once a month, on a full moon. Tatsumi chuckled, “I see you brought a couple of friends to the fight. Haven’t seen you in a while, Ozaki-Sensei. No matter, I doubt the three of you can really hold your own against the six of us.”

“Natsuno, Roukan’s mine,” Misaki said, pulling out a hand gun and cocking it.

“The mutts are of no consequence to me,” Natsuno nodded. “Tatsumi’s mine, Toshio, you’re on backup duty.” The green haired Jinrou could deny all he wanted, Natsuno knew Tatsumi was the mastermind behind all of this.

“Right,” Toshio said.  
“Roger,” Misaki nodded simultaneously.

Natsuno rushed toward Tatsumi, chasing him to the catwalk above, as Misaki ran head-first into the pack of wolves. Roukan and Lupita went after Misaki. Tatsumi had backup from Kouta. This left Toshio to deal with Kamitsu and Hibiki.

“What’s the matter, Tatsumi?” Natsuno asked, “Too much of a coward to take me on without reinforcements?”

Natsuno sliced his claws toward the green haired Jinrou who quickly dodged to the side. Landing a kick to Natsuno’s back, a sadistic smile crossed Tatsumi’s face and he let out a howling laugh. Tatsumi turned and hit the back of Natsuno’s neck with a chop. “I don’t need any assistance fighting you, you damned brat.”

Natsuno turned to face Tatsumi, just in time to throw his arms up and block another incoming kick. Pulling back his foot, Tatsumi lunged in with a punch, which Natsuno dodged, catching Tatsumi’s wrist, he moved so that he was standing behind the green haired Jinrou, holding his arm behind his back. He tossed Tatsumi toward the werewolf. “Then why don’t you call off your hound?”

Tatsumi growled. “Are you mocking me, brat? Fine, Kouta-Kun, why don’t you go and assist Hibiki and Kamitsu in handling the good doctor? He may be a Jinrou, but he’s still something of a fledgling. I want this kid all to myself.” Kouta nodded and turned his attention to Toshio.

“You’re underestimating your opponents, Tatsumi. Toshio may not have had any human blood, but he’s still quite capable. After all, he IS a doctor,” Natsuno pointed out with a smile as he motioned toward Toshio and the two werewolves he was already fighting with his head.

Tatsumi’s eyes slowly drifted back toward the less experienced Jinrou, remembering that Seishin had once stated that Toshio was one of those people who always hated to loose when he was a kid. Tatsumi raised an eyebrow, the doctor was dodging blows rather well for his age, had he still been human, there was no way he could move like that. Not that he dodged them all; he was rather scuffed up himself, but his movements were a rather impressive display, and he certainly seemed to know the right places to hit in order to deal the heaviest damage.

“Not bad for a fledgling against a couple of werewolves on a full moon,” Tatsumi chuckled. “Too bad he staked his wife. Not that he seemed to care about her, really, but, man, she was a good lay.” Natsuno flinched. He didn’t want the mental image of Tatsumi with anyone, especially Ozaki Kyoko. However, he wasn’t prepared for what came next, “Azusa-San wasn’t half bad either. After Tohru had sunk his teeth into you, I used Shizuka to gain my own entry to your house, you know?” he chuckled. “I often regretted sending your mother away. Whatever happened to her?”

“You sick bastard!” Natsuno growled, charging at Tatsumi again.

Tatsumi chuckled and stood perfectly still, as Natsuno charged at him. When the purple haired Jinrou was close enough, Tatsumi caught him by the wrists and slung his own body toward the ground, sliding onto his back and pulling Natsuno with him. Kicking a foot upward, landing a blow in Natsuno’s stomach, he released the younger Jinrou’s wrists and flung him into the wall behind them, quickly jumping to his feet. Natsuno slammed against the wall, crumbling part of it. The impact was enough to temporarily daze him. Tatsumi smiled and walked over to Natsuno. “Still as reckless as ever, eh, Natsuno-Kun?” he chuckled, grabbing Natsuno by the hair.

Toshio suddenly found himself overwhelmed, two werewolves he was handling well enough on his own, but now he wished he had Seishin around for back up now that there were three of them. Roukan and Lupita had long since disappeared from Misaki’s sight, she could sense they were still nearby, but they had hidden, probably to give themselves a moment to regroup. Taking advantage of this, she took down one of the weaker three werewolves. A single silver bullet hit Hibiki in the head. His body fell to the floor and slowly began to turn back to his human form. This turned the attention of the other two from Toshio, to her.

“Ozaki-Sensei, check on Tohru,” Misaki instructed, as she reached under her coat and pulled her blade to deal with the two werewolves.

Toshio nodded and ran to Tohru’s side, he had no trouble severing the bonds that held Tohru to the giant cross. “Tohru? Tohru, wake up,” he said, giving the blonde Shiki a gentle shake. “C’mon, Tohru, if you don’t wake up, the kid will probably kill everyone of us here.” Tohru’s eyes fluttered open, they were lifeless, emotionless, and solid black, the red lights didn’t even shine in them. The Shiki caught the scent of the Jinrou holding him in his arms and gave off a low growl to try and warn him away. “Tsk, they really did a number on you, didn’t they?” He moved cautiously as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a scalpel, which he used to open a wound on his wrist and put it to Tohru’s mouth. The blood rushed past Tohru’s lips and was enough to bring him out of his half-starved stupor, however, he quickly spit it out. “What the hell?”

“O-Ozaki-Sensei?” Tohru closed his eyes, shook his head and coughed.

“What, is my blood not good enough for you or something?” Toshio asked.

Tatsumi’s laugh was heard from above, causing the two Okiagari to look up in his direction. Natsuno was still reeling from having hit the wall, his eyes closed and trying to force his body to move. Tatsumi was dragging him by the hair. “That’s right, it’s not good enough for him. A Shiki can only feed off the Jinrou they’ve sired.” A sadistic smile swept across his face and he licked his lips as a mischievous glint danced in his eyes. “So, when I destroy his major food source, the little Shiki will eventually dry up and die of thirst.” He gave a sinister chuckle. “I was going to spare him the torment of being conscious when I did this; but I suppose it can’t be helped now. He’ll just have to watch.” Tatsumi reached into his pocket and pulled out a stake, the same one Kobun had menaced Tohru with back at the restaurant.

“No!” Tohru gasped. He tried to force himself to his feet, but failed in the attempt. “Natsuno!”

Natsuno’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Tohru’s voice. The Shiki’s desperate cry had sounded as if his heart was about to break. Natsuno quickly accessed the situation and caught Tatsumi’s wrist before the green haired Jinrou had a chance to plunge the deadly weapon into him. Tohru closed his eyes and gave a quiet sigh of relief. Natsuno twisted Tatsumi’s wrist, forcing him to drop the stake. “Ozaki-Sensei, get him outside!” Natsuno ordered as he pushed Tatsumi off of him, slamming the opposing Jinrou into the wall. Tatsumi glared at Natsuno and pushed himself away from the wall, lunging in for another attack.

“C’mon, Tohru, you heard the kid,” Toshio said, pulling the blonde Shiki to his feet. “We’ll wait for him outside, alright?”

Tohru nodded as the two Jinrou continued to fight, he seemed unable to pull his eyes away. “Ye-yeah…” He allowed the doctor to lead him out side, away from the fight and away from the crucifix, but he refused to go any further away from the building than the edge of the road. “The…The way Natsuno was fighting just now, did he…?”

“Did he drink blood?” Toshio finished Tohru’s question. “Would you hold it against him if he had?” Tohru blinked and looked toward the doctor. “We don’t know how, but they’ve masked their presence ever since they took you,” the doctor explained, “He couldn’t have found you if he didn’t.”

“What about Toya-Chan?” Tohru asked, “Did you guys find her? Is she alright? If those monsters did anything to her…!”

“Relax, she’s safe and sound at home with her mother by now, and believe me, she was in much better shape than you are. Natsuno sent Seishin to take her back to your parent’s house,” Toshio reassured him, lighting up a cigarette.

Tohru closed his eyes and quietly sank to his knees. “Thank goodness,” he mumbled, placing a hand to his temple.

Toshio gave the teary-eyed Shiki a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Relax, kid. Natsuno was determined he’d send you and Toya both home safely.”

Tatsumi pinned Natsuno to the ground. “Stay down, this time, brat,” he huffed, kicking Natsuno’s side. Natsuno let out a stifled grunt of pain. He was certain that he’d already gotten a few broken bones during this fight. Of course they’d heal as soon as he had time to recollect himself, but they were still an inconvenience now. He twisted himself into just the right angle to allow himself to bite one of Tatsumi’s ankles, forcing the older Jinrou to leap away with a shriek of pain, it was an attack he hadn’t expected. Natsuno spat as he pushed himself to his feet. “And I thought human blood tasted fowl,” he grumbled, shaking his head.

“Are you sure the taste of blood is disgusting, or are you just fooling yourself into believing that so you won’t do it?” Tatsumi asked with a smirk.

Natsuno coughed and spat once more. “How can anyone find that copper metallic taste appetizing? I suppose Stockholm Syndrome would eventually fool you into enjoying it if you knew it was all you could have, but damn.”

“You’ve never been hungry enough to be forced to drink it, though, have you?” Tatsumi chuckled, closing in on Natsuno, “Here, let me show you what that’s like.” He pounced on Natsuno again, sinking his teeth into Natsuno’s neck. Unlike with Tohru, this was not a gentle bite, it was one intended to inflict severe discomfort. Natsuno fell to the floor once more, with a yelp full of pain.

“Gyah!?” Tohru shivered and threw his hands to his head. Once again, the bond between them was proving it was every bit as much a curse as a blessing, as he could sense Natsuno’s discomfort. “N-Natsuno…?” he whimpered. “T-Tatsumi bit him…?” He blinked, his eyes full of tears, jerking his head back toward the building. He was still too weak to stand, but he desperately wanted to rush in and help. “What’s that bastard doing to him in there?”

“He’ll be alright,” Toshio sighed, trying to comfort the Shiki. “If you of all people loose faith in him, then we’re all in trouble,” he grumbled.

Tohru wrapped his arms around himself. “No matter how much faith I have in him, I still can’t help worrying.”

Natsuno tried to push Tatsumi off, he could feel his strength waning as Tatsumi bled him out. Misaki and the werewolves had disappeared some time ago, she having chased them from the room, leaving the two Jinrou to fight on their own. Hibiki and Kouta were both dead, the first having taken a silver bullet, the second having been slain by her blade. The fate of the other three wolves remained unknown. Neither Jinrou had anyone left who could come to their aid if the situation called for it. Natsuno attempted to scramble away from Tatsumi, but the older Jinrou was determined to attempt keeping him down until every last drop of blood was drained. Natsuno clawed at the floor, until he felt his hand grab hold of something. He turned his eyes upward to see what he’d caught hold of. Realizing what it was he closed his hand around it and quickly used it against the green haired Jinrou, jabbing it into Tatsumi’s neck. Tatsumi released his hold on Natsuno as he was forced to let out a shriek of pain. The younger Jinrou quickly scrambled to his feet, wielding still gripping the weapon in his hand. Tatsumi staggered backwards, holding his neck. He gave a pained hiss as the wound stated to heal. “You damned brat,” he growled.

Tatsumi came at Natsuno again, knowing the purple haired Jinrou had been weakened. Natsuno slashed at Tatsumi in attempt to deflect his attack, scratching him across the face with the tip of the weapon, streaking a scar from just below his left eye, across the bridge of his nose, and down to the bottom of his right cheek. This too began to heal, but didn’t deter the older Jinrou’s attack, which threw Natsuno over the railing onto the ground below. Thinking his foe stunned by the blow, Tatsumi jumped over the railing, landing feet first with a smug smile. Natsuno’s eyes were closed and he showed no signs of movement. Tatsumi chuckled, thinking this was his chance to deal the final blow. His eyes settled on the stake in Natsuno’s hand and they danced with over confident victory. He approached the unconscious eternally fifteen-year-old and reached down for the stake.

A smile crossed Natsuno’s face as he opened his eyes, using the element of surprise on the careless older Jinrou. His free hand seized Tatsumi’s neck, his other hand gripping tight onto the stake. Forcing himself up, he slammed Tatsumi to the ground and closed his eyes as he forced the stake through Tatsumi’s heart. The younger Jinrou shuddered as the older let out a soft gurgling noise before finally falling still. When he opened his eyes and saw Tatsumi’s lifeless form, Natsuno realized he didn’t have it in him to chop off his head like he’d previously threatened.

“I’ll just have to hope this is enough,” he exasperated as he struggled to his feet. He was weak and tired. His injuries would heal, but thanks to Tatsumi, he didn’t have enough blood left in him to safely feed Tohru for the night. “I have to get Tohru-Chan home and find something for him soon, or he could relapse and frenzy,” he thought worriedly.

Toshio smiled and patted Tohru on the shoulder. “See, I told you the kid would be alright,” the doctor chortled.

“Ah! Natsuno!” Tohru exclaimed in relief.

Natsuno smiled and threw his arms around Tohru. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner, Tohru-Chan,” he whispered.

Tohru shook his head and hugged his Jinrou as tight as he could. “No, I’m glad you got here at all,” he replied.

“Natsuno, go ahead and get him home, you don’t have much night time left,” Toshio suggested, “I’ll stay here and explain everything when the police arrive.”

Natsuno nodded, helping Tohru to his feet. “Thanks,” he said. “Come on, Tohru, let’s go.” Tohru nodded, clinging tight to Natsuno so they could both support one another as they made their way home.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuno takes Tohru back to his parents and they share a moment. Everything behind them, everyone returns to their normal lives and afterlives, until the door swings open once more at the Moon Bound Cafe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it, final Chapter. This is officially the longest story in the series, though it may not necessarily be the last (we’ll see what happens). However, I’m giving Natsuno and Tohru a well deserved break after this and will be switching to Karneval fics, letting Gareki and Yogi take a little abuse for a while; I have plot bunnies for two stories involving them. To all my favoriters, followers, commenters, and reviewers, thank you so much for your support on this story. Makany, Smochida, nssix6, BlueDragon2908, XxxCheshireCat, OlLady, and those of you who reviewed as ‘Guest’, you’ve all been great, and I’m glad I was able to keep you guys interested and entertained this long. Nssix6, I’m looking forward to when I get to come back and direct everyone on where to go to find your story with 3D, thank you for letting me use him here, I hope I did him justice and am only sorry I wasn’t able to give him more time, but I was afraid I’d either get the character wrong or give too much away. Also, yes, guys, I realize that canonically Tohru is a little bit taller than Natsuno, but I made the mistake back in “Another Way” 1 of stating that Natsuno is taller and upon realizing the mistake mentioned in an Author’s Note that I didn’t know why I had thought otherwise, so when I say Natsuno has to lean down, I’m just keeping my own continuity in check. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy.

Chapter 18: Home Sweet Home

 

Natsuno carried Tohru back to the Mutou house, knowing everyone would want to know he was safe. On his way, he called Seishin to update him and to tell him to make sure there was a bottle of AB+ AB- ready for Tohru when they got there. They arrived with just enough time for Natsuno and Tohru both to find some nourishment before the two Shiki had to be taken upstairs to sleep through the day. Natsuno locked himself and Tohru into one room, with the blinds and curtains both drawn, just incase the drink wasn’t enough to satisfy Tohru. He settled into the bed, next to the blonde Shiki and hugged him close, gently nuzzling his blonde locks. Tohru had already dozed off, too tired and weak to stay awake until the first rays of dawn. Not quite having settled into the deep sleep, however, he managed to cling tight to Natsuno and he quietly murmured the Jinrou’s name in his sleep.

“Shh…Shh… It’s alright, Tohru-Chan,” Natsuno whispered softly, “I’m here now.” Tohru gave a quiet murmur of something indistinguishable, possibly just a whimper, and snuggled closer to Natsuno. Natsuno tried to stifle a chuckle as he let Tohru settle in as close as he could get. The Jinrou had no intentions of leaving the sleeping Shiki’s side.

Natsuno left the bed and opened the door only twice during the day, when Mrs. Mutou brought him something to eat for lunch and supper to help him get his strength back. When she brought up dinner, he passed her back the plate and glass that she’d brought him at lunch. He used the chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef from the plate and popped it in his mouth. It was nice to have a home-cooked meal that someone else had prepared for once. He froze, chopsticks still in his mouth and blinked, his purple eyes darting back toward Tohru as an idea hit me. He smiled and gave a soft chuckle. The problem would be getting Tohru’s mother to agree to the idea. He remembered how Tohru had told him she used to either make or buy Mochi for him and his siblings after they’d had a bad day. They had been the first thing Natsuno had mixed with his own blood to see if Tohru’s body could withstand them in such a manner. If she was willing to take some of what she had fixed for diner and mix them, and make him some Mochi cakes as well and repeat the process, so Tohru could have his mother’s home cooking, then Natsuno would gladly give her the blood she needed for it. He was surprised, however, when she agreed to this request. He stood in the doorway and ate his meal, while she ran down to the kitchen to fetch a clean knife and two clean glasses as instructed. When she returned, Natsuno gave her what she’d come back for and let her return to the kitchen. “I’ll keep it in the fridge until you boys are ready to come down,” she promised, turning and carrying the two glasses back downstairs. With the amount that Natsuno had given her, she could easily prepare each dish individually. Perhaps the lack of squeamishness toward the idea came from the fact that her husband had once worked at the Ozaki Clinic. Or, perhaps it was because this was for her own son, who knew? Either way, it would be a wonderful surprise for Tohru a little later on.

Natsuno locked the door back and finished his meal. His phone rang, it was Toshio. Natsuno gave his wrist a flick, opening the flip phone and automatically answering the call. Their conversation ended just as Tohru began to stir from his sleep. Natsuno flipped the phone shut and tucked it into his pocket, returning to the bed side. “Tohru-Chan?” he quietly called, kneeling next to the bed. Tohru gave a soft growl, one Natsuno knew all too well, and had both feared and expected to hear. The drink from the night before hadn’t been enough to fully satisfy him, Tatsumi had kept him too weak and fed too little. Natsuno took off his shirt and slipped back onto the bed, gently catching Tohru in his arms. He wasn’t about to risk letting Tohru go downstairs amongst the humans in this condition.

Tohru instinctively sought out Natsuno’s neck and bit into him. Slowly, the Shiki returned to his senses. He blinked as his eyes returned to their normal shade of brown. Glancing around, he began to realize where he was, what he was doing, and to whom. He wrapped his arms around the Jinrou and drank just a bit more before pulling away, licking the wound clean as it healed, and gently nuzzling the Jinrou’s neck. “Natsuno…” he quietly whimpered.

Natsuno smiled and hugged him. “It’s alright,” he reassured him once more. “Everyone’s home safe and sound.” He shivered as he felt one of Tohru’s ice cold tears drip on his bare shoulder. They had both healed during the day while they slept, there were no physical signs of what had happened to either of them left. “Hey, don’t cry,” he said, gently tilting Tohru’s head up to look him in the eyes. He smiled and gently kissed Tohru’s forehead, right on the third eye. Tohru blinked and almost instantly seemed to relax. “Tatsumi’s gone, he can’t hurt anybody anymore,” Natsuno informed him.

“What about Aoi and Toya-Chan?” Tohru asked, “The werewolves that were after them?”

“Remember when Sunako said Miko Misaki was in town hunting a werewolf? He was the same one. I just got off the phone with Ozaki-Sensei, two of them are dead, the gunman who made off with you and Toya-Chan has confessed everything to the cops. Misaki-Sama’s got a broken arm and a twisted foot, but as soon as she heals, she’s going to look for the other three who escaped her, however, she’s certain they left town, they won’t be coming back to give your sister any more trouble. The girls can go home whenever they’re ready.”

Tohru closed his eyes and forced a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness.” Tohru leaned forward, resting his head on Natsuno’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Natsuno,” he said quietly, “I don’t know how that guy snuck up on us that night. I never sensed a thing. If I had known he was there, maybe I could have reacted in time to prevent all of this. I… I could sense it when Tatsumi bit you. I was so worried I was going to loose you again.”

Natsuno smiled and gently lay Tohru back on the bed, keeping his arms tight around the Shiki. “Don’t blame yourself, Tohru-Chan,” he said softly. “There were five Okiagari in the building that night, and none of us sensed that guy was there until it was too late. I couldn’t even sense where you were until I…” Natsuno cut off and looked away, feeling ashamed for what he knew he’d done, even though it had been to save Tohru and Toya.

Tohru smiled and gently caressed Natsuno’s cheek. “I know, Natsuno,” he said quietly, “Ozaki-Sensei told me while you were fighting Tatsumi. It’s OK,” he assured him. “They allowed it of their own free will, right?” Natsuno closed his eyes and nodded. Tohru smiled even bigger, remembering how Natsuno had let him slide on their agreement in light of self defense. “Sometimes, it just can’t be helped.” He placed a gentle hand on Natsuno’s head and pulled the Jinrou in for a kiss.

Natsuno closed his eyes and moved to deepen the kiss between them, eliciting a soft moan from Tohru in the process. Tohru’s face turned a bright red as he felt Natsuno’s tongue slip inside his mouth and mingle with his own. Tohru became so lost in the kiss that he barely noticed Natsuno unbuttoning his shirt, until it was too late, and the shirt lay discarded on the floor, their bare chests rubbing against each other. Tohru let out another moan as he felt Natsuno’s warm skin against his own cool flesh. One thing about not needing to breath was that they were both able to hold the kiss for as long as they wanted. Tohru let out a whimper of protest when Natsuno finally broke away.

Natsuno gently took Tohru’s left hand in his own, and caressed Tohru’s cheek with his right hand. “I’m so sorry, Tohru-Chan,” Natsuno said softly, gazing lovingly into Tohru’s eyes, “I was a total mess when you two went missing. I wish I had found you sooner. I promise, I’ll never let anyone hurt you like that again.”

Tohru blushed and gently wrapped his free hand around the hand at his cheek. “It’s alright, Natsuno,” he said, “You saved us, that’s what matters.” His thumb gently rolled in a figure eight over Natsuno’s knuckles as he spoke. “I know I’m always safe when I’m with you.”

“Tohru-Chan…” Natsuno smiled and leaned in to kiss him once more. While this kiss was just as passionate as the first, it was briefer. It was, however, followed by several fleeting kisses, starting from the nape of Tohru’s neck, working down toward his collar bone. Tohru blinked and tried his best to hold very still as some of the kisses tickled. Natsuno trailed gentle kisses down Tohru’s chest and abdomen.

“Ah…? N-Natsuno?” Tohru blushed, his voice hitching a little as Natsuno made his way a little lower, and his fingers gently tangling into soft silken purple locks. The Shiki knew all too well what the Jinrou wanted. Not that he could blame him, of course; they hadn’t had the chance to be intimate with each other since this whole thing had started, and now that it was all over, they both had some pent up aggressions to get out of their systems.

Natsuno smiled, stopping his trail of kisses just before he’d reached Tohru’s bellybutton. He gently pressed his lips to Tohru’s once more. “Don’t worry, Tohru-Chan,” he whispered lovingly, wrapping his arms around the blonde once more, “I promise I’ll be gentle…”

******************************************************************************************  
*~Several Weeks Later~*  
******************************************************************************************

Aoi and Toya had stayed on with Mr. and Mrs. Mutou for another week or so before returning to their penthouse. Tamotsu, Natsuno, and Akira had all pitched in to straighten the place up before the girls returned.

Tohru and Natsuno returned to the Moon Bound Café, and quickly saw to getting the window in Natsuno’s room fixed. Perhaps it was because everyone now knew that not one, but all of the staff members there were Vampires, but during the time they had been gone, nothing inside the restaurant was ever touched. Natsuno allowed Sunako and Seishin a month off, as even though Tatsumi was a threat, he had once been close to the two of them. Things had finally settled down and became quiet again.

Natsuno sat in the kitchen, flipping through a cookbook, he’d been planning on adding some new dishes and was currently reading a book for some Western dishes. He had a small bowl of Sakuranbo cherries sitting next to him, which he’d been snacking on. Plucking one out of the bowl, he flipped the page in the book and popped the cherry into his mouth. The cherry tasted much better to him than blood, but the juice spritzing from the fruit seemed like a similar effect. He looked up from the book and glanced toward the dining hall. “Tohru-Chan, everything alright in there?” he called. The blonde Shiki had been very quiet for quite some time by this point.

“Everything’s fine, Natsuno,” Tohru called back.

“Sure you don’t need any help in here?” Natsuno asked, entering the dining hall, to find Tohru, already in his uniform, bent over a table which he was wiping clean with a wet rag.

Tohru glanced back over his shoulder at Natsuno and smiled. “I think everything’s about set up now. This is the last table, but thanks for offering.” He stood up straight, still looking over his shoulder. “Any luck picking out the new dish?”

Natsuno walked over and wrapped his arms around Tohru from behind. He gently pulled the blonde into an embrace, supporting Tohru’s body with his own. “I’ve got a few ideas, I might cook up some of them tomorrow night and the two of us can sample them before we open. Then I’ll make the final decision.”

Tohru tilted his head upward to look into Natsuno’s eyes. “You want me to help decide? Won’t that put a strain on you?”

“Don’t care,” Natsuno answered leaning down and gently kissing Tohru’s lips. Tohru returned the kiss, swiftly, only to pull away long enough to turn and face Natsuno before letting their lips lock once more. Natsuno smiled. “Mmnh… I love you, Tohru-Chan,” the Jinrou gently growled into the kiss, letting the Shiki feel the vibration of the words against his own lips.

Tohru smiled and blushed. “I love you, too, Natsuno.”

They slowly pulled away from the kiss and Tohru gently reached up to brush a strand of Natsuno’s hair out of his face. Before either of them could say another word, they heard the sound of the wooden spokes clacking against the door as it opened.

Tohru twirled around quickly to greet whoever was entering. They were ready to open for business, but hadn’t expected their first customer for another few minutes yet. Blushing a little, wondering how much of their display must have been witnessed, Tohru tried his best to greet the visitor without acting awkward. “Hello, welcome to the Moon Bound Café,” he greeted, with a bow. He flinched, realizing Natsuno had frozen in place. He blinked and looked up to see who it was that had come in, as he felt Natsuno’s hands gently catch his shoulders.

Natsuno smiled. Never had he expected to see them walk through that door. Tohru quickly stepped aside to avoid getting trampled as Koide Azusa rushed in and threw her arms around Natsuno’s neck. Natsuno gently returned her embrace. “Hello, Mother.”


End file.
